
Class L 

Copyright N° 



COFOJIGKT DEPOSIT. 



/ 

BIRDS 2£ WASHINGTON 

AND VICINITY 

INCLUDING ADJACENT PARTS OF 

MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA 



BY 

MRS. L. W. MAYNARD 

WITH 

INTRODUCTION BY FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY 



"So I say to you, if you would reap the purest pleasures of youth, 
manhood, and old age, go to the birds and through them be brought 
within the ennobling influences of nature/' — F. M. Chapman. 



*7, 



REVISED EDITION 



WOODWARD & LOTHROP 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

1902 



THF UBRAftY OF 
CONHRFiSS, 

NOV. 93 1902 

CXArrT.VVAlov: 

f»0**V ft 



Copyright, 1898, 
By MRS. L. W. MAYNARD 

Copyright, 1902, 
By MRS. L. W. MAYNARD 



£0e JSorfc QBMimoxt (preee 

THE FR1EDENWALD CO. 

BALTIMORE, MD. 



DEDICATED 

TO MY BOYS 

INSPIRING COMPANIONS IN ALL MY 
BIRDSTUD1ES AND EXCURSIONS 



PREFATORY NOTE. 

This little book has been prepared at the suggestion 
of the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia, 
in the belief that a local work giving untechnical de- 
scriptions of all birds likely to be seen in this vicinity, 
with something of the haunts and habits of those that 
nest here, will be useful to many who desire an ac- 
quaintance with our own birds but do not know just 
how to go about making it. 

Whatever success has been attained in the effort to 
make the book usefully accurate and complete has 
been made possible by some of our resident ornithol- 
ogists, who have most generously given information, 
observations, and helpful criticism. I am especially 
indebted to Mr. Robert Ridgway, Dr. C. W. Rich- 
mond, Dr. A. K. Fisher, Mr. William Palmer, and 
Dr. T. S. Palmer. Miss Florence A. Merriam has 
been the inspiration of the work from its inception. 
There are also others to whom I am deeply grateful 
for kind assistance. 

I would call attention to Dr. Richmond's valuable 
tabulated list of all birds found here (p. 178), and to 
Miss Merriam's introduction, with its hints on observ- 
ing, and suggestions as to where to find the District 
birds. 



8 PREFA TOR Y NO TE 

The illustrations are reproduced from bulletin No. 
3 by Dr. A. K. Fisher, and bulletin No. 54 by Prof. 
F. E. L. Beal, published by the Biological Survey, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

L. W. M. 

Washington, D. C, September, i8g8. 

NOTE TO SECOND EDITION. 

A general and increasing interest in birds having 

been gratifyingly shown by the appreciative reception 

given this book, a new edition is now offered, revised 

and brought down to date, with important additions. 

L. W. M. 
May, 1902. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction n 

Where Birds may be looked for 19 

About Birds in General 21 

Field Key to our Common Birds 25 

Thrushes, etc. 4° 

Gnatcatcher 45 

Nuthatches and Tits 46 

Thrashers and Wrens 49 

Warblers 58 

VlREOS 71 

Cedar Waxwing 76 

Swallows 78 

Tanagers 84 

Sparrows, etc 86 

Blackbirds and Orioles 98 

Crows and Blue Jay 106 

Flycatchers no 

Swift and Hummingbird . 117 

Whip-poor-will and Nighthawk . . . . . . 119 

Woodpeckers 121 

Kingfisher 128 

Cuckoos 130 

Owls 132 

Hawks 137 

Turtle Dove 148 

Quail, Grouse, and Wild Turkey 149 

Shore and Water Birds 15 1 

Migration of Birds 156 

Descriptions of Migrants and Winter Residents . 159 

List of Birds found in the District of Columbia . 178 

How to Attract Birds to Houses 187 

Birds that may be seen in Winter 189 

Local Lists 190 

Observation Outline 194 

Orders and Families v 197 

Game Law of District of Columbia 200 

Index 203 



INTRODUCTION. 

In Washington one can surely follow Emerson and 
name most of the birds without a gun. With the 
Smithsonian collections of mounted birds and study 
skins, and the libraries of bird books to refer to, all 
but the most obscure species can easily be identified 
from careful notes made with the help of an opera 
glass in the field. Notes on colors and markings 
made in the field with the bird in sight, if compared 
with the books, will give the bird's name, and notes 
on his habits made at the time will add valuable ma- 
terial to our meagre knowledge of life histories; but 
notes made from memory will rarely identify and are 
wholly untrustworthy. A good observer must be 
able to take his oath upon the accuracy of all his 
records. 

Provided with glass and note-book and dressed in 
inconspicuous colors, proceed to some good birdy 
place — the bushy banks of a stream or an old juniper 
pasture — and sit down in the undergrowth or against 
a concealing tree trunk with your back to the sun, to 
look and listen in silence. You will be able to trace 
most songs to their singers by finding which tree 
the song comes from and then watching for movement, 
as birds are rarely motionless long at a time when 
singing. It will be a help if, besides writing down a 
careful description of both bird and song, you draw a 
rough diagram of the bird's markings and put down 
the actual notes of his song as nearly as may be. 



1 2 INTR OD UCTION 

Suggestions as to the most important points to 
observe will be found on page 194. 

If you have time for only a walk through the w r oods, 
go as quietly as possible and stop often, listening to 
catch the notes that your footsteps have drowned. 
Timid birds may often be attracted by answering their 
calls, for it is very reassuring to be addressed in one's 
native tongue. 

Don't try to see too much at first. Take careful 
descriptions of a few birds and then refer to a bird 
book and identify them. 

Reference books may be examined at the library 
of the Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, though they cannot be taken from the room, 
and many of the popular books, as well as reference 
books, will be found in the Washington Free Public 
Library. Migration blanks, and publications on the 
food habits of birds can be had on application to the 
Biological Survey. 

Records of rare birds should be reported to Dr. 
Richmond at the Smithsonian, who may also be 
consulted about birds that cannot be otherwise iden- 
tified. 

Aside from the many advantages afforded by access 
to experienced ornithologists and the government 
collections, Washington is a particularly good place 
in which to get acquainted with birds. The numerous 
city parks, and the large grounds of the Capitol, 
White House, Agricultural Department, and Smith- 
sonian are good observation grounds in themselves, 
not only in the migrations but in the nesting season, 
as we are favored by having twenty-five species of 
birds nest in the city. 



FLORENCE MERRIAM BA ILE Y 1 3 

Even in winter, when most of us note few but the 
English Sparrow, the city is not without its native 
bird residents and affords opportunities for delightful 
encounters with straying northerners visiting the 
capital. 

Much to the satisfaction of inlanders unacquainted 
with coast birds, the singular car of the Fish Crow 
may be heard all winter about the Smithsonian, for 
the birds make themselves at home on its tow r ers and 
regardless of spectators perch on the bare trees near 
by. Sometimes when walking through the grounds 
one discovers a small tree filled apparently with 
round apples, which on approach turn into a flock 
of plump Waxwings conversing in their low mono- 
syllables. In passing weed-grown vacant lots one 
often starts up a flock of twittering Juncos — the slate- 
colored Snowbirds — and one day I chanced along 
just as a small Hawk darted down from his ambus- 
cade scattering a little band which had been feeding 
quietly among the weeds. Throughout the winter 
we are honored by the presence of the Red-headed 
Woodpecker, splendid beauty that he is, and in the 
oaks of Washington Heights we may often hear his 
rattling ker'r'r'r and get sight of the handsome tri- 
color coats of two or three of the Red-heads disport- 
ing on the bare trees. In park shrubbery throughout 
the city the cheering voice of the Song Sparrow 
may often be heard, sounding peculiarly gentle and 
melodious in contrast to the quarrelsome winter 
chatter of the English Sparrow. The whistle of the 
White-throat and the small notes of the Kinglets are 
also common winter park sounds. Now and then, 
too, the sweet sad call of the Bluebird stirs our hearts 
with its promise of spring. 



1 4 IN'l R 01) UCTION 

Transient feathered visitors also brighten the winter 
days. Once I had the delightful surprise of discover- 
ing a flock of northern Pine Finches filling a sapling 
at the corner of 16th and U Streets, and showing their 
yellow wing marks as if to prove their identity. 
During the midwinter snows Horned Larks, Tree 
Sparrows, and Purple Finches come into the city 
from their suburban weed patches, and the Larks are 
sometimes seen walking soberly along Pennsylvania 
Avenue, as well as on the quieter streets. 

Towards spring one's calendar has many red letters. 
As I look back, one of the brightest is the day when 
from a tree opposite the Treasury the first spring 
carol of the Robin arrested my steps and magically 
transformed the noisy city streets into quiet country- 
side, as a sudden burst of sunshine illuminates a dull 
landscape. Bound with this memory is the first sight 
of the jolly Crow Blackbirds on the Agricultural 
grounds taking constitutionals among the dandelions 
to the delight of all beholders. Then come the even- 
ings when from the sidewalk one hears the faint sweet 
chirpings of homeward bound travellers passing over- 
head, evenings followed by days when Golden Warb- 
lers awaken one with their summery song, little 
visitors drop into the city parks, the leafing trees 
ring with the happy songs of bands of Goldfinches, 
and the woods and fields are filled with new joyful 
life to attract one to the country. 

In going outside of the city to look for birds Wash- 
ingtonians are peculiarly favored, for the suburban 
car lines carry them out so quickly that even the few 
free hours of a busy day may be used to great ad- 
vantage. One of the most accessible places is also 



1 



FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY 15 

one of the best for birds. From Seventh and U 
Streets a car ride of fifteen minutes takes you to the 
main entrance of the Zoological Park, where the 
earliest birds gather. Here on a chilly spring morn- 
ing the air has been fairly ringing with the sweet 
minor whistles of Field Sparrows answering each 
other across the bare hills. 

In April the low sunny pine woods on the way to 
the animal houses are a favorite singing gallery for 
flocks of the slate-colored Snowbirds which, minor 
songsters though they be, warble a cheery lay that 
leads very pleasantly to the louder chorus of summer. 
Beyond the pines, around the out-door animal houses 
and the buffalo yards where seed-eaters can pick up 
a living, the handsome White-throated Sparrows col- 
lect, and their piping whistle is most grateful to the 
ear, for it has all the purity and freshness of a spring 
morning. 

In May and June as you enter the Zoo gates the 
low wooded hills on the right are almost sure to be 
echoing with bird songs. Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, 
Indigo-birds, Catbirds, Chats, Oven-birds, Scarlet 
Tanagers, and Wood Thrushes sing there commonly, 
and I have seen numbers of Black-polls and a Bay- 
breasted Warbler there earlier in the season. On 
May 4, 1898, I noted twelve species between the Zoo 
entrance and the antelope yards, including the Black 
and White Creeper and Prairie Warbler. 

During the spring migration the bushes along the 
north bank of Rock Creek below the prairie-dog 
houses are favorite resorts for warblers — active Black 
and White Creepers, gentle Black-throated Blues, 
gorgeous orange-throated Blackburnians, and many 



1 6 INTR 01) UCTION 

others, while across the creek, White-eyed Vireos, 
Chats, and Maryland Yellow-throats sing. Piney 
Branch is another good water-way for Warblers — a 
beauty of a Black-and- Yellow is associated with one 
especial patch of bushes. Indeed, sunny undergrowth 
by water supplies the conditions these little insect 
eaters most desire. 

Outside the Zoo the narrow wooded strip' of land 
between the Potomac and the canal from High Island 
up to the Amphitheatre is one of the best Warbler 
grounds easily reached by the cars. Here one may 
find among other birds Rough-winged Swallows, 
Maryland Yellow-throats, Carolina Wrens, Water- 
Thrushes and Kentucky Warblers. 

In looking for birds that prefer dry fields and 
thickets there is a delightful old juniper field to visit 
just west of Chevy Chase circle. Here Thrashers 
shout out their approval of life, shy Chewinks scratch 
up the dead leaves under cover of the evergreens, 
clownish Chats pour out their rapid volleys — loud 
whistles and mocking laughter — from the thicket, and 
sweet-voiced Prairie Warblers mount the juniper tops 
and with leisurely serenity run up their scale. 

Among other birdy places that may be reached on 
the wheel are the wild undergrowth bordering the 
Soldiers' Home woods, the road passing Pierce's Mill 
and Blagden's Mill, and running northward into Rock 
Creek Park, the woods along the Brightwood road 
and the military road west of Brightwood. The marsh 
about Benning's bridge is one of the best places for 
Marsh Wrens. The woods back of Marshall Hall 
and those adjoining Mt. Vernon, Takoma Park, 
Forest Glen, Kensington, Rockville, Laurel, Four 



FL ORENCE MERE JAM BA ILE Y 1 7 

Mile Run, the Arsenal grounds and the reclaimed 
Potomac Flats are all good places. The Falls 
Church road is said to go through a rich bird section 
and to include on its list Worm-eating Warblers. 
Arlington Cemetery is particularly good for winter 
birds, and the mouth of Hunting Creek, Anacostia 
River and swamps, for water birds. 

On May 9, 1898, I noticed forty-eight species on a 
circuit of a mile from the terminus of the 14th Street 
car line down along Piney Branch and back through 
Mt. Pleasant, eighteen species of which were seen 
between the end of the car line and the 14th Street 
bridge on Piney Branch. 

Before the bulk of the birds come north, one has to 
pick out the most favorable places in order to see 
much, but in May and June there will be plenty to 
see and hear on almost any walk or ride if one selects 
the hour and direction in reference to sun and wind. 
For birds follow the sun, keep out of the wind, and 
are little in evidence during the hot noon hours. In 
the early morning the dark western side of the woods 
will be silent and deserted while the side that faces 
the sun will be alive with merry songsters. Go along 
Piney Branch when the sun has dropped below the 
southern wall and you will see little or nothing. Walk 
up Rock Creek in a strong north or south wind and 
you will fare still worse. The noon-day hours are to 
be avoided almost as much as wind. To hear songs 
and watch migrants, go early in the morning, earlier 
as the days grow warmer. If the morning hours are 
occupied, the late afternoon ones will be found profit- 
able, as the birds sing again when the heat of the day 
is over. In watching nests you have more latitude, 
2 



1 8 INTRODUCTION 

as there is generally plenty to see at all hours of the 
day. 

Year by year as one's field experiences accumulate, 
the pleasures of bird study deepen. Xot only does 
the acquaintance of one year become the friend of the 
next, but drawn more to the woods and fields by the 
delight of our new interest in the birds themselves, 
all unwittingly we come closer and closer to nature 
" and connect the landscape with the quiet of the sky." 

Florence Merriam Bailey. 
Washington, D. C, May i, 1902. 



Birds of the Woods. 

Tanagers, Thrushes, Woodpeckers, Flycatchers, 
Vireos, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Cardinal, King- 
fisher (wooded streams), Oven-bird, Chat, Black and 
White Creeper, Brown Creeper, Nuthatch, Titmouse, 
Chickadee, Gnatcatcher, Whip-poor-will, Night-hawk, 
Junco, Kinglets, Water-Thrush, Hummingbird, Cuc- 
koos, Turtle Dove, most Warblers. 

Birds of Garden and Orchard. 

Bluebird, Robin, Chipping Sparrow, Wood Pewee, 
Phoebe, Kingbird, Brown Thrasher, Catbird, Mock- 
ingbird, House Wren, Yellow Warbler, Purple Mar- 
tin, Eave and Barn Swallows, Orioles, Blue Jay, 
Hummingbird, Goldfinch, Woodpeckers, Crested Fly- 
catcher, Red-eyed Yireo, Cedar-bird. 

Birds of Meadow and Wild Field. 

Field Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Spar- 
row, Henslow's Sparrow, Indigo-bird, Bluebird, 
Meadowlark, Bobolink, Blackbirds, Crow, Fish Crow, 
Nighthawk, Bob-white, Junco, Prairie Warbler, Chat, 
Brown Thrasher. 

Birds of Roadside axd Fences. 

Sparrows, Kingbird, Indigo-bird, Bluebird, Gold- 
finch, Brown Thrasher, Catbird, Robin. 

Birds that show White in Flying. 

Meadowlark, Vesper Sparrow, Chewink, Cuckoos, 
Junco, Kingbird, Blue Jay, Flicker, Turtle Dove, 
Nighthawk, Mockingbird, Marsh Hawk, many small 
Warblers. 



SIZE OF BIRDS. 

Birds are measured from the tip of the bill to the 
end of the tail. An English Sparrow is about 6V^ 
inches long and a Robin 10 inches. 



ABOUT BIRDS IN GENERAL. 

Birds as a class occupy a place between mammals 
and reptiles, but nearer reptiles. Unlike and far apart 
as birds and snakes now are, fossil remains prove 
that they have a common ancestry, that both are de- 
scended from what is called reptilian stock, and have 
arrived at their present forms by a long and wonderful 
process of evolution. A character still common to 
both is egg-laying, although reptiles, with few excep- 
tions, do not incubate. 

Birds, standing between mammals and reptiles, have 
no marked peculiarities of 'structure not found in one 
or the other class, except that of body-covering; they, 
and they only, are clothed in feathers. This ideal 
clothing is light, warm, and non-conducting, thus 
permitting a high temperature to be maintained. The 
heat of a bird's body is about no degrees, against 98 
degrees in mammals and 40 degrees in reptiles. 

Birds are said to be protectively colored when the 
tints of their plumage harmonize with their haunts, 
making them inconspicuous to their enemies. The 
brown, striped Sparrows, Quail, and Whip-poor-will 
are good examples of protective coloration in birds 
that are much on the ground, and Yireos and female 
Tanagers of those that live in trees. 

Birds do not perspire. They have an oil-gland at 
the base of the tail from which they press out a drop 
of oil with the beak, and dress or " preen " their 
feathers. This gland is specially developed in water- 



22 ABOUT BIRDS IN GENERAL 

birds, and it is the thorough anointing of the feathers 
which makes water so readily run off a duck's back. 

The breathing capacity of birds is phenomenal; 
they breathe not only with the- lungs but with the 
whole body, inflating numerous air-sacs under the 
skin, and also certain bones. Birds breathe much 
more rapidly than animals. Their wonderful power 
of flight is explained by the lightness of the air-filled 
body, and by their great muscular strength; the breast 
muscles which move the wings are enormous, some- 
times weighing one-sixth of the whole bird. 

There is the greatest variety in the structure and 
consequently in the habits of different birds, some 
being especially adapted to life in the water, and 
others to aerial life, while the Ostrich and its rela- 
tives can neither swim nor fly. By far the greater 
number of birds, however, are at home on the earth 
or in the air, and can range the wide world over, the 
most free and independent of all creatures. 

Aerial birds have great expanse of wing in pro- 
portion to size of body, and their wings are long 
and pointed, while birds that spend most of their time 
perching or on the ground, like the Sparrows, have 
short round wings. Between the two extremes of 
shape and use there is every possible variety, adapted 
to the habits of all species. 

The bill of a bird is its hand, and is wonderfully 
varied to suit different habits of feeding and nest 
building*. It may be long or short, slender or stout, 
straight or hooked at the end, curved up or down, 
wide and flat or high and narrow, but is ahvays ad- 
mirably adapted to its special use. In its varied 
forms it is used as forceps, chisel, hammer, trowel, 
shovel, probe, hook or needle. 



ABOUT BIRDS IN GENERAL 23 

There are also great differences in the feet of birds. 
Those that walk much, like Blackbirds, have strong, 
well-developed feet, while the feet of birds that spend 
most of their time in the air, such as Swallows, are 
small and weak. Hawks and Owls have tremen- 
dously strong feet, which they use with great skill 
in catching and killing their prey. Water birds have 
webbed feet, which are used as oars in swimming. 
The feet of perching birds are so constructed that 
certain tendons act automatically and lock the bird to 
his perch when sleeping. 

A bird's tail is vised as a rudder in flight, and enables 
him to steer his course with precision. Long-tailed 
birds can change their course much more quickly and 
gracefully than those with short tails, which generally 
make direct flights. Some birds, like Woodpeckers 
and Swifts, have a short stiff tail, which they use as 
a prop. Many birds use the tail to express emotion. 
It is twitched, wagged, spread or folded, drooped or 
tilted up, according to the disposition of its owner. 

Birds have ears, although there is usually no indi- 
cation of them. They open a little below and behind 
the eyes, and are hidden by feathers. The nose of a 
bird is a pair of nostrils opening on the bill. 

Birds are classified according to their differences 
in structure, the greater diversities separating them 
into the larger divisions, or orders, and the lesser 
into the nearer relationship of families. Within 
families there is a still closer connection called the 
genus (plural genera). Species means the particular 
kind of bird, as Robin, Song Sparrow. The scien- 
tific names of birds show genus and species, and the 
genus is placed first, as if we should write Smith John 
instead of John Smith. 



A FIELD KEY TO OUR COMMON LAND BIRDS.* 

When you have seen a bird with sufficient defmite- 
ness to describe its color, form, and actions, reference 
to the following key will often prove a short cut to its 
identity. This key is based only on adult males, who, 
because of their song, often brighter colors, and 
greater activity, are far more frequently observed than 
the females. But, knowing the male, you will rarely, 
during the nesting season, be at loss to recognize his 
mate. 

The use of the key may be illustrated by the follow- 
ing example: Let us imagine that you see a Chipping 
Sparrow feeding about your doorstep. You note his 
size, chestnut cap bordered by white, black bill, 
brownish, streaked back, and grayish white, un- 
marked under parts. Turning now to the key, you 
will see that by exclusion the bird belongs in " Sec- 
tion V " of the " Third Group," and that it should be 
placed in subsection " I " of this section, which in- 
cludes birds having the " under parts white or whitish, 
all one color, without streaks or spots." You have 
now two subdivisions to choose from — " A. Back 



* From " Bird-Life/' by Frank M. Chapman. By permis- 
sion of D. Appleton and Co. 



26 FIELD KEY 

without streaks or spots/' and " B. Back brownish, 
streaked." Your bird falls under " B," where again 
you have two subdivisions, " a. Crown rufous or chest- 
nut, without streaks," and " b. Crown not rufous or 
chestnut." Your bird should be referred to " a," 
where you will at once find it described under " a ,: 
as the Chipping Sparrow. 

FIRST GROUP. 

BIRDS THAT CATCH THEIR INSECT FOOD IN THE AIR. 

(Flycatchers, Swallows, Swift, Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will.) 
I. Size large, length over 9.00 inches; the spread 
wings over 15.00 inches in extent; generally seen 
only late in the afternoon or at dusk. 

1. A bird of the air, flying high, often over housetops in 
cities; a conspicuous white spot in each wing; note, 
a loud, nasal peent; sometimes dives earthward with a 
booming sound . Nighthawk, page 120. 

2. Haunts, near the ground, makes short flights while feed- 
ing; call, given from a rock, stump, or similar perch, 
whip-poor-will, vigorously repeated. 

Whip-poor-will, page 119. 

II. Size smaller, length under 9.00 inches; the spread 

wings less than 15.00 inches in extent; may be 

seen at any time of the day. 

I. Birds that catch passing insects by darting from a 
perch, to which they afterward return. 
A. Length 8.50 inches; upper parts blackish slate 
color; tail tipped with white; occasionally attacks 
Crows; note, an unmusical, steely chatter. 

Kingbird, page 111. 



FIELD KEY 27 

B. Length under 8.00 inches; upper parts not slate 
color; tail not tipped with white. 

a. Length 7.00 inches; frequently found nesting un- 
der bridges or about buildings; crown blackish; 
tail wagged nervously; note, pee, pee, and pewit- 
phcebe Phcebe, page 114. 

b. Length 6.50 inches; haunts wooded growths; note. 
a plaintive pee-a-wee. . . . Wood Pewee, page 115. 

c. Length 5.40 inches; haunts orchards, lawns, and 
open woodland; note, chebec, chebec. 

Least Flycatcher, page 169. 

2. Birds that feed on the wing for hours without perch- 
ing. 

A. Plumage entirely black. 

a. Length 5.50 inches; plumage sooty black; usually 
nests in chimneys. . . . Chimney Swift, page 117. 

b. Length 8.00 inches; glossy, bluish black; nests in 
gourds or houses erected for its use. 

Purple Martin, page 78. 

B. Plumage not entirely black. . Swallows, page 78. 



SECOND GROUP. 

CLIMBING AND CREEPING BIRDS. 

(Nuthatches, Creepers, Woodpeckers.) 
I. Birds without stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that climb 
either up or down. 

1. Length 6.00 inches; back gray, cap black, cheeks and 
under parts white; note, a nasal yank, yank; a perma- 
nent resident. . White-breasted Nuthatch, page 48. 

2. Length 4.50 inches; back gray, cap black, a blackish 
streak through the face; under parts reddish brown; 
note, high and thin, like the tone of a penny trumpet. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch, page 160. 



28 FIELD KEY 

3. Length 5.25 inches; upper parts streaked black and 
white; note, a thin, wiry see-see-see-see. 

Black and White Warbler, page 59. 

II. Birds with stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that always 
climb upward. 

1. Length 5.65 inches; plumage dull brown aVid black; 
size small, bill slender; an inconspicuous bird who w T inds 
his way up the trunks searching for insects' eggs, etc.; 
note, fine and squeaky. . . Brown Creeper, page 160. 

2. Plumage with more or less white, size larger, bill 
stouter, chisel-like, often used in hammering. 

A. Length 9.75 inches; head red, back black; flight 
showing a large white patch in the wing. 

Red-headed Woodpecker, page 123. 

' B. Length 12.00 inches; crown gray; a red band on 
the nape; flight showing a white patch on the lower 
back and yellow in the wings; often flushed from the 
ground; note, kee-yer Flicker, page 127. 

C. Length 6.75 inches; crown black; back and wings 
black and white; note, a sharp peek. 

Downy Woodpecker, page 122. 



THIRD GROUP. 

BIRDS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRECEDING GROUPS. 

(Blackbirds, Orioles, Sparrows, Vireos, Warblers, 
Thrashes, etc.) 

Section I. With yellow or orange in the plumage. 
Section II. With red in the plumage. 
Section III. With blue in the plumage. 
Section IV. Plumage conspicuously black, or black 
and white. 



FIELD KEY 29 

Section V. Birds not included in the preceding sec- 
tions. 

I. With, yellow or orange in the plumage. 

1. Throat } r ellow. 

A. Throat and breast pure yellow, without streaks or 
spots. 

a. Length 5.10 inches; cap, wings, and tail black; back 
yellow; song canary-like, sometimes uttered on the 
wing; flight undulating, frequently accompanied by 
the notes chic-o-ree, per-chic-o-ree ; a permanent resi- 
dent Am. Goldfinch, page 86. 

b. Length 5.95 inches; lower belly and wing-bars 
white; back olive-green; frequents the upper 
branches, generally in woodland: actions deliber- 
ate; song loud and musical, uttered slowly, often 
with pauses: "See me? I'm here; where are you?" 

Yellow-throated Vireo, page 73. 

c. Length 5.25 inches; cheeks and forehead black, 
bordered by ashy; upper parts olive-green; no 
wing-bars; haunts thickets and undergrowth; move- 
ments nervous and active; call-note pit or chack; 
song, a vigorous, rapid witch-e-wee-o, witch-e-wee-o. 

Maryland Yellow-throat, page 68. 

d. Length 7.45 inches; upper parts olive-green; no 
wing-bars; a white line before the eye; haunts thick- 
ets and undergrowth; song, a striking mixture of 
whistles, chucks, and caws, sometimes uttered on the 
wing Yellow-breasted Chat, page 69. 

B. Under parts streaked with reddish-brown; length 
5.00 inches; general appearance of a yellow bird; 
haunts shrubbery of lawns, orchards, second growths, 
and particularly willows near water; song, rather loud, 
wee, chee-chee-chee, cher-wee, or chee-chee-chee-chee, way-o. 

Yellow Warbler, page 61. 



30 FIELD KEY 

C. Breast yellow, with a conspicuous black crescent; 
length 10.75 inches; haunts fields and meadows, largely- 
terrestrial; flight quail-like, outer tail feathers white, 
showing when on the wing; song, a loud, musical 
whistle; a permanent resident. 

Meadowlark, page 102. 

2. Throat white. 

A. With yellow on the sides. 

a. Length 5.50 inches; rump yellow; breast streaked 
or spotted with black; tail feathers marked with 
white; note, a characteristic tchip. 

Myrtle Warbler, page 162. 

b. Length 5.00 inches; no black on under parts or 
white in the tail; yellow extending along the whole 
sides; back olive-green, iris white; haunts thickets; 
call, an emphatic " Who are you, eh? " 

White-eyed Vireo, page 74. 

c. Length 5.25 inches; tail and wings banded with 
yellow, showing conspicuously in flight; haunts 
woodland; movements active, much in the air, tail 
frequently spread Redstart, page 70. 

B. No yellow on sides. 

a. Length 6.75 inches; a yellow line from the bill to 
the eye; crown black, with a white stripe through 
its center; haunts in and about thickets and bushy 
woodlands; song, a high, clear, musical whistle; 
call-note, chink. 

White-throated Sparrow, page 167. 

b. Length 4.00 inches; a yellow, or yellow and orange 
crown-patch, bordered by black; flits restlessly 
about outer limbs of trees and bushes; note, a fine 
ti-ti Golden-crowned Kinglet, page 160. 

3. Throat neither yellow nor white. 



FIELD KEY 3 1 

A. Length 12.00 inches; white rump and yellow in 
wings showing conspicuously in flight; a black 
breast-band; note, a loud kee-yer. 

Flicker, page 127. 

B. Length 9.00 inches; crested; breast ashy, belly yel- 
low; tail feathers largely pale -brownish red; haunts 
upper branches in wooodland; note, a loud question- 
ing or grating whistle. 

Crested Flycatcher, page 112. 

C. Length 7.50 inches; throat and head black; breast, 
belly, and lower back deep orange; haunts fruit and 
shade trees; song, a loud, ringing whistle. 

Baltimore Oriole, page 103. 

D. Length 7.20 inches; crested; grayish brown; a 
black line through the eye; tail tipped with yellow; 
generally seen in small flocks; note, thin and weak. 

Cedar Wax wing, page j6. 

II. With red in the plumage. 

I. With red on the under parts. 
A. Throat red. 

a. Length 7.25 inches; wings and tail black; rest of 
plumage bright scarlet; call-note, chip-chirr. 

Scarlet Tanager, page 84. 

b. Length 6.20 inches; dull pinkish red, wings and 
tail brownish; frequently seen feeding on buds or 
blossoms; call-note, a sharp chink, often uttered dur- 
ing flight; song, a sweet, flowing warble. 

Purple Finch, page 166. 

c. Length 6.20 inches; dull red or green tinged with 
red; mandibles crossed; generally seen in flocks; 
feeds on pine cones Am. Crossbill, page 166. 

d. Length 5.30 inches; a red crown-cap; back 
streaked black and brown; breast rosy; feeds on 
seeds or catkins Redpoll, page 180. 



32 FIELD KEY 

B. Throat black. 

a. Length 8.00 inches; breast rose-red, rest of plu- 
mage black and white; song loud and musical; call- 
note peek. . . . Rose-breasted Grosbeak, page 168. 

b. Length 8.00 inches; a conspicuous crest; region 
about the base of the bill black; rest of the plumage 
and bill red; song, a clear whistle; resident from 
New York city southward. . . . Cardinal, page 94. 

c. Length 5.40 inches; wings and tail banded with 
orange-red, showing conspicuously in flight; move- 
ments active; much in the air; tail frequently 
spread; haunts woodland Redstart, page 70. 

2. No red on the under parts. 

A. Length 9.50 inches; black; shoulders red; haunts 
marshes; migrates in flocks. 

Red-winged Blackbird, page 100. 

B. Length 5.25 inches; crown-cap red; chin black; 
rest of under parts streaked with blackish; feeds on 
seeds and catkins. Redpoll (im.), page 180. 

C. Length 4.00 inches; under parts whitish; back olive- 
green; a ruby crown-patch; eye-ring white; move- 
ments restless, wings flitted nervously; call-note, cack; 
song remarkably loud and musical. 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, page 159. 

III. With blue in the plumag'e. 

A. Length 11.50 inches; a conspicuous crest; upper 
parts dull blue; under parts whitish; a black patch 
on the breast Blue Jay, page 108. 

B. Length 7.00 inches; upper parts bright blue; under 
parts cinnamon-brown Bluebird, page 41. 



FIELD KEY 33 

C. Length 5.50 inches; entire plumage indigo-blue. 

Indigo Bunting, page 96. 

D. Length 13.00 inches; bluish gray, haunts near water; 
feeds on fish, which it catches by darting on them at 
the surface Kingfisher, page 128. 

IV. Plumage conspicuously black, or black and white. 
I. Black and white birds. 

A. Throat black. 

a. Length over 6.00 inches. 

a 1 . Entire under parts black; nape buffy; rump 
white; a musical dweller of fields and meadows; 
frequently sings on the wing. 

Bobolink, page 169. 

a 2 . Breast rose-red; rest of the plumage black and 
white; song rapid, loud and musical; call-note, 
peek\ a tree dweller in rather open woodland. 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, page 168. 

a 3 . Sides reddish brown; rest of the plumage black 
and white; call-note, chewlnk or towhee; inhabits 
the undergrowth; often seen on ground scratch- 
ing among fallen leaves. . . . Towhee, page 93. 

b. Length under 6.00 inches. 

b 1 . Crown black; cheeks white; back ashy; un- 
streaked; call, chick-a-dee or a musical, double- 
noted whistle; a permanent resident. 

Chickadee, page 178. 

B. Throat and under parts white or whitish. 

a. Length 8.50 inches; upper parts blackish slate- 
color; tail tipped with white; a bird of the air, 
catching its insect food on the wing) and occasion- 



34 FIELD KEY 

ally sallying forth from its exposed perch in pur- 
suit of a passing crow; note, an unmusical, steely 
chatter Kingbird, page in. 

b. Length 6.90 inches; upper parts washed with rusty; 
generally seen in flocks; terrestrial. 

Snowflake, page 180. 

2. No white in plumage. 

A. Length 19.00 inches; jet black. 

Am. Crow, page 106. 

B. Length 12.00 inches; black with metallic reflec- 
tions; iris yellowish; migrates in flocks; nests usu- 
ally in colonies in coniferous trees; voice cracked and 
reedy; tail "keeled" in short flights; a walker. 

Purple Grackle, page 105. 

C. Length 9.50 inches; shoulders red; haunts marshes; 
call, kong-quer-ree. 

Red-winged Blackbird, page 100. 

D. Length 7.90 inches; head and neck coffee-brown; 
frequently seen on the ground near cattle. 

Cowbird, page 98. 

V. Birds* not included in the preceding sections (that 
is, plumage without either yellow, orange, red, or 
blue; not conspicuously black, or black and white). 

I. Under parts white or whitish, all one color, without 
streaks or spots. 

A. Back without streaks or spots. 

a. Back olive-green; gleaners, exploring the foliage 
for food or flitting about the outer branches. 
a 1 . Length 6.25 inches; a white line over the eye 
bordered by a narrow black one; cap gray; iris 



FIELD KEY 35 

red; song, a rambling recitative: " You see it — 
you know it — do you hear me? " etc. 

Red-eyed Vireo, page 71. 

or. Length 5.75 inches; a white line over the eye 
not bordered by black; prefers the upper branches 
of rows of elms and other shade trees; song, a rich 
unbroken warble with an alto undertone. 

Warbling Vireo, page 72. 

a 3 . Length 4.00 inches; no white line over the eye; 
eye-ring and wing-bars white; a tiny, unsuspicious 
bird; flits about the outer branches of trees and 
shrubs; wings twitched nervously; note, cack, 
song, a remarkably loud, musical whistle. 

Ruby-crowned, Kinglet, page 159. 

b. Back gray or bluish gray. 

b 1 . Length 6.50 inches; a gray, crested bird; fore- 
head black; no white in the tail; note, a whistled 
peto, peto, or hoarse de-de-de-de ; resident from 
New York city southward. 

Tufted Tit, page 46. 

b 2 Length 8.50 inches; a white band at the end of 
the tail; a concealed orange-red crest; a bird of 
the air, catching its insect food on the wing, and 
occasionally sallying forth from its exposed perch 
in pursuit of a passing Crow; note, an unmusical, 
steely chatter Kingbird, page in. 

c. Back browm. 

c 1 . Length 5.00 inches; a nervous, restless, excita- 
ble bird; tail often carried erect; song sweet, 
rapid and rippling, delivered with abandon. 

House Wren, page 55. 



36 FIELD KEY 

r. Length 12.25 inches; slim, brownish birds with 
long tails; flight short and noiseless; perch in a 
tree, not in an exposed position; note tut-tut, 
cluck-cluck, and cow-cow. 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, page 130. 

B. Back brownish, streaked. 

a. Crown rufous or chestnut without streaks. 

a\ Length 5.25 inches; bill black; a whitish line 
over the eye; a familiar bird of lawns and door- 
yards; song, a monotonous chippy-chippy-chippy. 
Chipping Sparrow, page 90. 

a 2 . Length 5.70 inches; bill reddish brown, back 
rufous or rufous-brown; wing-bars and eye-ring 
whitish; haunts dry, bushy fields and pastures; 
song, a musical, plaintive cher-wee, cher-wee, cher- 
zvee, cheeo; dee-dee-dee-dce. 

Field Sparrow, page 91. 

a 3 . Length 5.90 inches; forehead black; crown and 
wings chestnut-rufous; flanks pale grayish brown; 
haunts marshes; song, a rapidly repeated weet- 
weet-weet, etc Swamp Sparrow, page 167. 

b. Crown not rufous or chestnut. 

& 1 . Length 6.75 inches; crown blackish, with a cen- 
tral whitish stripe; throat white; breast gray; a 
yellow spot before the eye; haunts in and about 
thickets and bushy woodlands; song, a high, clear, 
musical whistle; call-note, chink. 

White-throated Sparrow, page 167. 

b 2 . Length 5.20 inches; bill slender; a white line 
over the eye; tail carried erect; haunts reedy 
marshes; call-note scolding; song rippling. 

Long-billed Marsh Wren, page 56. 



FIELD KEY 37 

2. Under parts white or whitish, streaked or spotted. 

A. Back streaked. 

a. Length 6.10 inches; outer tail feathers white, show- 
ing conspicuously when the bird flies; haunts dry 
fields and roadsides; song, musical. 

Vesper Sparrow, page 88. 

b. Outer tail feathers not white. 

b 1 . Length 6.30 inches; breast with numerous spots 
tending to form one large spot in its center; 
haunts on or near the ground, generally in the vi- 
cinity of bushes; call-note, chimp; song, musical; 
a permanent resident. . . Song Sparrow, page 92. 

b 2 . Length 6.35 inches; breast grayish with one spot 
in its center Tree Sparrow, page 167. 

B. Back not streaked; breast spotted. 

a. Length 11.40 inches; tail 5.00 inches; wing-bars 
white; upper parts, wings, and tail bright cinnamon 
brown; haunts undergrowth; sings from an exposed 
and generally elevated position; song, loud, striking, 
and continuous Brown Thrasher, page 49. 

b. Length under 9.00 inches; tail under 3.00 inches; 
no wing-bars; back reddish or cinnamon-brown. 

b 1 . Length 8.2s inches; breast and sides heavily 
marked with large, round, black spots; head and 
upper back brighter than lower back and tail; call- 
note, a sharp pit or liquid quirt. 

Wood Thrush, page 44. 

b 2 . Length 7.15 inches; breast with wedge-shaped 
black spots; sides unspotted, washed with brown- 
ish-ashy; tail reddish brown, brighter than back; 
call-note, a low chuck. 

Hermit Thrush, page 159. 



38 FIELD KEY 

b 3 . Length 7.50 inches; upper breast lightly spotted 
with small, wedge-shaped, brownish spots; tail the 
same color as the back; sides white; call-note, a 
clearly whistled wheeu. 

Wilson's Thrush, page 159. 

c. Length under 9.00 inches; tail under 3.00 inches; 

no wing-bars; back olive-green. 

c 1 . Length 6.10 inches; center of crown pale brown- 
ish bordered by black; haunts on or near the 
ground in woodland; a walker; song, a ringing 
crescendo, teacher, teacher, teacher, TEACHER, 
TEACHER Oven-bird, page 64. 

3. Under parts not white or whitish, all one color, without 
streaks. 

A. Length 8.50 inches; slate-color; cap and tail black; 
inhabits the lower growth; call-note, nasal; song, 
highly musical and varied Catbird, page 52. 

B. Length 7.20 inches; grayish brown; conspicuously 
crested; a black line through the eye; tail tipped with 
yellow; generally seen in small flocks; note, thin and 
weak Cedar Waxwing, page 76. 

C. Length 5.50 inches; under parts cream-buff; a con- 
spicuous whitish line over the eye; upper parts reddish 
brown; movements active; tail carried erect; haunts 
lower growth; notes loud and striking; resident from 
New York city southward. 

Carolina Wren, page 53. 

4. Throat and upper breast black or slate-color, very dif- 
ferent from the white or chestnut belly. 

A. Throat black. 

a. Belly and rump chestnut; head, wings, and tail 
black; length 7.30 inches; haunts orchards and shade 
trees; song, highly musical. 

Orchard Oriole, page 104. 



FIELD KEY 39 

b. Belly white; sides reddish brown; tail black and 
white; length 8.35 inches; haunts undergrowths; 
■ call-note, chewink or iowhee. 

Towhee, page 93. 

B. Throat slate-color. 

a. Back and wings slate-color; outer tail feathers and 
belly white; length 6.25 inches; haunts generally on 
or near the ground about shrubbery. 

Junco, page 167. 

5. Throat streaked with black and white; rest of under 
parts reddish brown; upper parts grayish slate-color; 
length 10.00 inches Robin, page 42. 



40 THRUSHES 



THRUSHES. 

To the Thrush family belong the Bluebird and 
Robin, as well as all Thrushes so named except the 
Brown Thrush, which with the Catbird and Mocking- 
bird is classed with the Wrens, and the Golden- 
crowned and Water Thrushes, which are placed 
among the Warblers. 

The Thrush family holds a high place in the scale 
of bird development, and the true Thrushes have 
voices of incomparable richness and beauty. 



BLUEBIRD 



41 




Bluebird : Sialia sialis. 



Length 7 inches. 

Upper parts azure blue. 

Throat and breast cinnamon-brown; belly white. 

Female much duller. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

The Bluebird has all the qualities which endear a 
bird to man. Cheery, confiding, brave, useful, and 
beautiful, he holds a secure place in our affections. 
We are fortunate in having him with us all the year 
-round, except for brief periods in mid-winter when 
unusual cold or storms drive him farther south, but 
with the first mild breath he returns, and on any 



42 ROBIN 

bright day after the middle of February we may hear 
his glad prophecy of spring. He has a soft contralto 
voice, exquisitely sweet, and " the very soul of ten- 
derness. " His song is broken into short phrases, 
often given on the wing. 

Bluebirds are among the earliest birds to build, 
and need but little encouragement to put their sum- 
mer home near ours. A small box with a hole in it, 
set up on a post, pleases them as well as an elaborate 
bird-house, and a Bluebird family will sensibly dimin- 
ish the numbers of caterpillars, spiders, beetles and 
grasshoppers in the vicinity. They also build in holes 
in trees, stumps or fence posts, stuffing in, rather 
carelessly, dried grasses and feathers. The eggs, 
4 to 6, are light blue, unmarked. 

American Robin: Mentla migratoria.. 

Length io inches. 

Upper parts dark brownish-gray; head and tail black, the 
outer tail-feathers tipped with white. 

Lower parts chestnut-red; throat white, streaked with 
black. 

Resident all the year, uncommon in summer. 

While the Robin is not common here in nesting 
time, he is abundant in spring and fall migration, and 
is sometimes found in winter in sheltered places. In 
April and May, or even in March, he may be seen 
in the Smithsonian grounds running over the grass 
in search of grubs and angle worms. 

The friendliness of the Robin, and his joyous swing- 
ing song have made him universally loved wherever 
he nests, but in the south, where he winters in great 
flocks and seldom sings, he is considered too often 



ROBIN 43 

only as a table delicacy, and unless given more pro- 
tection he may soon be classed among our rarer 
birds. In the winter of 1896-97, 2600 Robins were 
offered for sale in the Washington market at one 
time, but through a strict enforcement of the law 
this trade has now practically ceased. 

The nest is very substantial, of coarse grasses and 
rootlets, with an inner wall of mud and a lining of 
fine grasses. It is built usually in fruit or shade trees, 
but occasionally in odd places, even on the ground. 
Two broods are raised in a season, and generally a 
new nest is built each time, the second not far from 
the first. The eggs, 4, are a beautiful greenish-blue 
without marks. 

The Robin is one of our most useful birds, more 
than a third of his food being harmful insects. Al- 
though fond of fruit, he eats ten times as much wild 
as cultivated, and we will not grudge him the tithe 
he takes from our gardens and orchards, in considera- 
tion of the inroads he makes on injurious bugs and 
caterpillars. Dr. Coues says: "Few persons have 
any adequate idea of the enormous, the literally incal- 
culable numbers of insects Robins eat every year." 



44 WOOD THRUSH 

Wood Thrush: Turdus mustelinus. 

Length about 8J4 inches. 

Upper parts bright cinnamon-brown. 

Under parts cream-white, thickly marked with large black 
spots, except on the throat and middle of the belly. 

Resident (common) from April 20 to October 15; winters 
in Central America. 

" The Heavenly Thrush!" This was Audubon's 
favorite songster, as he has been of many another 
nature-lover, for his song seems to voice the very 
spirit of the woods. Heard at evening when the lin- 
gering radiance of sunset fills the grove and glorifies 
the singer, it is especially entrancing. While he may 
sing at any time, one is most sure of hearing him at 
sunset and in the early morning*, or on a cloudy day. 
His call-note is whit, whit, much like that of the 
Robin, but softer. 

This beautiful Thrush is an inhabitant of most 
woods about Washington, nesting in the under- 
growth, usually in a young dogwood tree or high 
bush. He builds in a crotch, beginning with a few 
dead leaves which hang loosely below the nest, giving 
the effect which he probably intended, of its being- 
only a bunch of litter left from winter storms. The 
outside is of leaves, twigs and rootlets, firmly inter- 
woven, and inside is a wall of mud which is lined 
with fine rootlets. The eggs, 3 to 5, are pale greenish- 
blue like the Robin's. 

The only bird with which the Wood Thrush is 
likely to be confused outside of migration time is the 
Brown Thrasher. The color and markings of the 
two birds are much the same, but the Thrasher is a 
slender bird with a very long tail, while the Thrush is 
rather stocky, so that one soon comes to know them 
apart, even at a distance. We have a number of 



BL I /:- GRA V GNA TCA TCHER 45 

Thrushes in migration, but the Wood Thrush may 
be known from them all by the black spots on the 
breast extending over the sides and up under the wings. 
He is also larger than the other Thrushes and of a 
brighter color. He may always be heard in May and 
June in the wilder parts of the Zoological Park. 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher : PolioptUa ecerulca. 

Length 4^ inches; long tail. 

Upper parts bluish-gray; forehead and tail black; outer 
tail-feathers white. 

Under parts grayish-white. 

-Fern-ale and young without black forehead. 

Resident (not uncommon) from April 5 to September; 
winters in Central America, Cuba and the Bahamas. 

The tiny Gnatcatcher's conspicuous feature is his 
long black a.nd white tail, which is usually open and 
in motion as he flits about in the tree tops. 

This dainty wood-sprite will be found in wet woods 
where gnats and other small-winged insects are abun- 
dant. At the Virginia end of Long Bridge there is a 
point of wooded land, running south, which is the 
favorite haunt of many birds and particularly of the 
little "Gnatcatcher. He is also found in woods adjoin- 
ing the Mount Vernon grounds, and Miss Merriam 
discovered two nests in the Zoo and one on High 
Island. The High Island nest was only six feet from 
the ground, but usually these birds build much higher. 
The nest is an exquisite little structure, stuccoed with 
lichens like the Hummingbird's. There is a group at 
the Smithsonian, showing the mother-bird sitting and 
being fed by her mate. 

The Gnatcatcher's song is a soft sweet warble, and 
his call-note has been likened to the " ting " of a 
banjo string. 



46 TUFTED TITMOUSE 

Tufted Titmouse: Pants bicolor. 

Length 6 inches. 

Upper parts ashy-gray; forehead black. 

Under parts whitish, sides rusty. 

A conspicuous crest. 

Resident (very common) all the year. 

There are three woodland birds which are fre- 
quently together outside the nesting season — the 
Tufted Titmouse, Chickadee, and Nuthatch. When 
the clear, whistling peto of the Titmouse is heard it is 
likely to be followed by the day-day-day of the Chick- 
adee and the yank-yank of the Nuthatch. Downy 
Woodpeckers are often in the same company, and 
in winter Kinglets and Creepers join them and they 
wander about, a merry flock, feeding in open or dense 
woods as the weather or their fancy dictates. They 
are generally led by the Tufted Tits and Chickadees, 
who flit on ahead to " pastures new," constantly call- 
ing the others to follow. All of these birds spend 
much of their time creeping over the trunks and 
branches of trees, searching for insects, larvae and 
eggs. 

The Tufted Titmouse is recognized by his crest, 
and as he is not shy it is easy to get near him, 
although his restlessness tries one's patience. These 
birds are abundant in the vicinity of Washington and 
are occasionally found within the city limits. Warren 
says they sometimes build in boxes about houses. 

The nest is usually in a tree or stump, either a 
natural cavity or a Woodpecker's hole. This they 
line luxuriously with moss, leaves and feathers. The 
mother-bird has a pretty habit of adding to her house- 
furnishings after the eggs are laid and she is sitting; 
when she goes off for food she brings back a bit of 



CAROLINA CHICKADEE 47 

feather or fur to make the cosy nest still softer. 
Collectors have been deceived by this, and supposing 
the nest unfinished have visited it later for the eggs 
to find it full of young birds. Six white speckled 
eggs are laid. 

Carolina Chickadee: Partis carolinensis. 

Length about 4^ inches. 

Top of head and throat glossy black; cheeks pure white; 
the rest of the body ashy-gray, under parts lighter. 
Resident (common) all the year. 

The Chickadee is a fluffy, restless mite of a bird, 
very common, especially in winter, but he is oftener 
heard than seen. His loud whistling song is written, 
zvheedle-lee, wheedle-lay, and he also calls dee-dee-dee, 
rather softly as he flits about the trees, searching in 
the crevices of bark for insects and their eggs. He 
is shy and retiring in the nesting season, but at other 
times he is very friendly, and will even come about 
a country house, picking up seeds and bread-crumbs 
thrown out to him. 

He builds in holes, either remodelling a Wood- 
pecker's hole, or digging one out for himself in rather 
soft dead wood. His bill is arched and strong, and 
he likes a deep nest, so he works away — with the 
help of his mate — until the hole is from six to twelve 
inches deep. Although the entrance is small, the 
nest is roomy at the bottom, and the soft lining is of 
moss, feathers, hair and wool — sometimes a bit of 
squirrel or rabbit fur. The eggs, 6 to 8, are white, 
spotted with brown. 



48 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH 

White-breasted Nuthatch: Sitta carolinensis. 

Length 6 inches. 

Upper parts bluish-gray; top of head glossy black. 

Under parts and sides of head white. 

Tail shows white and black. 

Resident all the year, more common in winter. 

The nasal yank, yank of the Nuthatch is a common 
sound in our woods when the nesting season is over 
and birds begin to gather in flocks. This call of the 
Nuthatch is so peculiar that it is soon learned, and 
his characteristic habit of creeping down tree trunks 
head-first identifies him to the eye. Besides insects, 
he eats nuts, acorns and corn, which he hammers into 
the crevices of rough bark or into cracks in fence 
rails, and then splits open with his sharp, strong bill. 
Like his comrades, the Titmouse and Chickadee, he 
nests in holes, often in one that a Downy Wood- 
pecker has deserted, lining it with grasses, hair and 
feathers. Five speckled eggs are laid. 



BROWN THRASHER 



49 




BROWN THRASHER. 

Brown Thrasher; Brown Thrush: Harporhynchus 

rufiis. 

Length 11^2 inches; very long tail 
Upper parts reddish-brown; two whitish wing-bars. 
Under parts white, streaked with black. 

Resident (very common) from April 15 to October 15; 
winters in the Southern States. 

The Thrasher is one of our finest songsters. When 
he mounts to a tree-top and pours out his soul only 
the Mockingbird can be compared with him. There 
is indeed a decided resemblance in their songs, and 
in Maryland the Thrasher is called Sandy Mocking- 
bird, while farther south he goes by the name of 
French Mockingbird, Although he sings in tree- 
tops, he lives near the ground and is often seen in 
road-side thickets, or dusting himself in the road, — 
4 



50 MO CKINGBIRD 

themselves, we should say, for the pair are generally 
together unless one is on the nest. In the woods they 
scratch in dead leaves for bugs and worms, making 
as much noise as chickens. 

Brown Thrashers are noted for devotion to their 
nest, and most pathetic is their pleading whee-u when 
it is approached; sometimes one will try to lure you 
from the place by lighting a little distance away and 
singing to you very softly and sweetly. Once when 
I stumbled on a Thrasher family where the young 
were evidently just out of the nest, the old birds be- 
came so wild with fright that I was about to retreat, 
when one of them flew to a low branch between me 
and the rest of the family, and sang an exquisite 
whisper-song with the obvious intention of charming 
me into forgetfulness of the precious fledglings. 

The nest is on or near the ground, and the eggs, 
3 to 6, are dull white, thickly speckled with brown. 
The Thrasher is distinguished from a Thrush by his 
long tail and light wing-bars. Langille says that he 
is easily domesticated and capable of remarkable 
friendship for man. 

Mockingbird : Mimus polyglottos. 

Length ioy 2 inches. 

Upper parts ashy-gray; wings and tail blackish, marked 
strongly with white. 

Under parts grayish-white. 

Resident (uncommon) all the year; winters from Virginia 
southward. 

This famous vocalist rarely nests here, although he 
is found rather commonly at Colonial Beach, Piney 
Point, and other summer resorts somewhat south of 
us, and in lower Maryland breeds abundantly. 



MOCKINGBIRD 51 

He is likely to build in thickets in open country, 
and in shrubbery about dwellings. Mr. Ridgway 
says a bunch of low, thick-topped trees canopied with 
wild grapevine suits him excellently, and Mr. William 
Palmer found a nest in an old apple tree. The nest 
is bulky, much like a Catbird's, and the bluish-gray 
eggs, 4 to 6, are thickly speckled with brown. Two 
broods, sometimes three, are raised in a season. 

Mockingbirds are scarcely more rare about Wash- 
ington in winter than in summer; Mr. W. F. Roberts 
has eight winter records. 



5^ 



CATBIRD 




CATBIRD. 

Catbird: Galeoscoptes carolinensis. 

Length about 9 inches. 

General color slaty-gray; cap and tail black. 
Chestnut-red patch under base of tail. 

Resident from April 20 to October; winters in the South- 
ern States, Cuba, and Central America. 

The Catbird is one of the best known of our sum- 
mer residents, being a tenant of most thickets, gar- 
dens and lawns in the country, and also of the shrub- 
bery in our city parks. He is easily recognized by 
the mewing cry which gives him his name, and by a 
nervous jerking of the tail when perching. 

His song is varied, and often exceedingly sweet, 
but he is a bird of surprises and we never know just 
what to expect from him. He has the family gift 
of mimicry (shared with the Mockingbird arid 



CAROLINA WREN 53 

Thrasher) and we have many a time chased a strange 
note- to find it coming from this old and supposedly 
well-known friend. 

The Catbird is shrewd and suspicions, always look- 
ing out for trespassers on what he considers his 
domain, and is usually successful in driving off an in- 
truder, whether it be squirrel, cat or innocent bird- 
student; none will stay long to be pelted with his 
harsh cries. He is truly the policeman of the 
thickets, and one suspects this to be the reason that 
timid birds, like the Wood Thrush and Chewink, so 
often build their nests near his. 

Two broods are raised in a season, and the bulky 
nest, built in a high bush or briary tangle, is of twigs, 
rootlets and grasses. The eggs, 4, are deep greenish- 
blue, unmarked. 

The Catbird's love of fruit has given him a bad 
reputation, but it has been found that he .does more 
good than harm, nearly half his food being injurious 
insects. He also prefers wild fruit to cultivated, and 
is said to like the native mulberry best of all, so fruit- 
growers are urged to plant a few wild berries in the 
garden, and an occasional mulberry tree in the 
orchard. 

Carolina Wren; Mocking Wren: Thryothorus ludo- 
vicianus. 

Length 5^ inches. 

Upper parts dark reddish-brown; wings and tail barred 
with black. 

Under parts bnffy. A distinct white line over the eye. 
Resident (common) all the year. 

This Wren has a delightful voice, and we are espe- 
ciallv fond of him because he sin^s when other birds 



54 CAROLINA WREN 

are quiet, even occasionally in winter. In the great 
blizzard of 1895, when the storm was at its height, 
Mr. Ridgway heard the loud, ringing voice of a Caro- 
lina Wren. 

One of his common songs is a whistling whee-o-lee, 
three or four times repeated, the accent either on the 
first or last syllable. Sometimes only two notes are 
heard, whee-o, when it sounds like a Cardinal's call. 
He also occasionally gives a varied performance re- 
sembling a Mockingbird's, from which he is named 
Mocking Wren. He lives in woods bordering 
streams, and is abundant all along Rock Creek and 
the Potomac. 

While one may usually hear the Carolina, finding 
him is quite another matter. 'He seems to delight in 
playing hide-and-seek with the observer, keeping 
warily to the opposite side of a tree or stump, and 
flying entirely away if too closely pursued. Look 
for him in wild, secluded places; on fallen trees, about 
old logs and stumps, and under turf which overhangs 
small streams. When you catch sight of him you 
will be astonished that so great a voice can belong to 
so small a bird, for he is but little larger than the 
House Wren and much resembles him, his distin- 
guishing marks being the white line over the eye, the 
more rusty back, and buffy under parts. The nest is 
usually in a hole in a stump or log, and is built of 
grasses, moss, feathers and hair. The eggs, 6 to 7, 
are white, with lavender markings. 



HO LSI-: WREN 



55 




HOUSE WREN. 

House Wren: Troglodytes acdon. 

Length 5 inches. . 

Upper parts brown; wings and tail finely barred with 

black. 

Under parts dull whitish. % . 

Resident from April 15 to September; winters in the 
Southern States. 

If one wishes these merry little birds around a 
country house, he need only put up, out of the reach 
of cats, a box or gourd with a hole in the side about 



56 ' LONG- BILLED MARSH WREN 

an inch in diameter — large enough, for the Wrens 
and too small for English Sparrows. Whatever is 
given them they will first nearly fill with twigs, and 
upon them build the nest. They also nest in hollow 
fence-posts or rails, in cavities in stumps and trees, 
and sometimes in most surprising places, such as an 
old hat or boot, the sleeve or pocket of a coat, or 
perhaps in the gourd-shaped mud nest of the Eave 
Swallow. One pair built in a teakettle, carrying twigs 
and other material in through the spout, and at the 
home of Mr. Ridgway they built in a clothes-pin bag 
left hanging outside, the hole made by the drawing- 
string being just the right size. They doubtless 
thought that the pins in the bottom of the bag had 
been kindly left there to lessen their labors. 

House Wrens, if undisturbed, will return to the 
same place year after year. Two broods are raised 
in a season, and the pinkish eggs, 6 to 9, are thickly 
speckled with brown. These Wrens have a gushing, 
rippling little song, given with great animation and 
persistency. 

Long-billed Marsh Wren: CistotJwnis palustris. 

Length about 5 inches. 

Upper parts dark brown, streaked on the back with black 
and white. 

Under parts pure white; brown along; the sides. 

Wings and tail barred with black; a white line over the eye; 
long bill. 

Resident (abundant) from April 30 to October 30; winters 
in the Gulf States and Mexico. 

Down on the Potomac marshes below Analostan 
Island, and also on the Eastern Branch near Ben- 
ning's Bridge, Marsh Wrens may be found, and they 



LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN S7 

are such eccentric, entertaining little creatures, that 
it is well worth while to hunt them out. Usually 
there are numbers of them together, and as they all 
talk at once and are constantly in motion, it is a very 
lively corner of Birdland. Perched on a swaying 
reed, with head thrown back and tail cocked so that 
he looks half his real size, the Marsh Wren will gurgle 
and twitter at you for perhaps half a minute, when, 
his curiosity being satisfied, he is off about his own 
very important business. 

The occupations of ordinary bird-life are not suf- 
ficient for these energetic Wrens, and they amuse 
themselves with building superfluous nests, sometimes 
half a dozen that are never used. The nest is very 
artistic, shaped like a ball, the entrance a hole at one 
side. It is built over the water, in tall reeds, several 
of which are woven into it with swamp grass. The 
nest that is to be the home is better finished than the 
others, and stuffed nearly full of soft bits of leaves, 
fine grasses, and plant down. 

Marsh Wrens raise large families, often eight or 
nine little Wrenkins crowding the grassy nest. The 
eggs are so thickly speckled that they are of nearly 
uniform brown color. The food of these Wrens is 
water-spiders, water-beetles, and other aquatic insects. 



WARBLERS. 

This is a large and puzzling family. When the 
student has conquered all the rest of his bird world, 
there will still remain some unidentified Warblers to 
give zest to woodland excursions. They have been 
described as " among our most abundant, most beau- 
tiful and least known birds." 

Warblers that live near the ground, or in the lower 
stories of trees, as do most of those that nest in this 
part of the country, are comparatively easy to find 
and identify; the tantalizing ones are those that are 
here only in migrations and are likely to keep in the 
tree-tops, where they are so incessantly active that an 
opera-glass seems of little use. These are very small 
and have conspicuous white markings on the tail, 
which is frequently spread as they flit among the 
branches. 

Contrary to what would be expected from the 
name, few of this family are fine songsters, and the 
tree-top Warblers in particular have small, thin voices 
that attract little attention, but the student soon 
comes to recognize their lisping, semi-musical notes, 
and to be alert for new species. 

The wooded bank of the Potomac on the Virginia 
side, from Rosslyn to Chain Bridge, is a favorite 
ground for Warblers, both migrants and residents. 
It was near Chain Bridge that Dr. T. S. Palmer, in 
migration time, saw five species in one tree. In the 
Zoo one of the best places to find them is the bushy 
border of Rock Creek. 



WORM-EATING WARBLER 59 

Black and White Warbler: Mniotilta varia. 

Length about 5*4 inches. 

Male, finely streaked black and white all over. 

Female, brown where the male is black, breast but faintly 
striped. 

Resident (abundant) from April 12th to October 15th; win- 
ters from Florida southward. 

The little Black and White Creeper is common in 
high open woods, where he is always scrambling over 
tree trunks and branches, hunting spiders and other 
insects. One may at first think him the Downy 
Woodpecker, but the Creeper is smaller and his 
stripes are finer and more uniform. 

This Warbler's ground nest is exquisitely dainty, 
and so cunningly hidden at the foot of a tree or stump 
as to be rarely discovered. But if you see a mother- 
bird with a worm in her mouth and can patiently 
wait until her suspicions of you are quieted, you may 
be rewarded by seeing her drop straight to the nest 
instead of going down at some distance from it and 
running along, as most ground-building birds do. 
The eggs, 4 to 5, are white, speckled with brown, 
chiefly at the larger end. 

The Creeping Warbler has a wiry little voice, not 
very musical, but it is always a welcome sound, an- 
nouncing his gentle presence in the neighborhood. 

Worm-eating Warbler: Helmithcrus vermivorus. 

Length S T A inches. 

Upper parts uniform olive-green. 

Under parts bufTy-white. 

Four distinct black lines on the huffy head, two passing through 
the eyes. 

Resident (rather common) from May 1 to September; win- 
ters in the tropics. 



60 BLUE- WING ED WARBLER 

The Worm-eating Warbler is found in dense under- 
growth, especially in that of thickly wooded ravines, 
such as are along Rock Creek, and the Potomac on 
the Virginia side. He resembles the Oven-bird in 
habits and general appearance, but the four black 
stripes on his head and his unmarked breast will dis- 
tinguish him from that species. He spends much 
time on the ground hunting worms and spiders, and 
flies to a low perch when disturbed, quite like the 
Oven-bird; like him also he builds a sheltered nest 
of dead leaves and rootlets, which is nearly always 
lined with the reddish stems of moss. The eggs, 4 
to 5, are minutely speckled with cinnamon-browm. 

The song of this Warbler is much like that of the 
Chipping Sparrow, though faster. 

Blue-winged Warbler: Hclminthophila pinus. 

Length less than 5 inches. 

Crown and under parts bright yellow; a black line through 
the eye. 

Back bright olive-green; wings and tail grayish-blue; 
white wing-bars and tail patches. 

A rare summer resident and not common in migrations; 
winters in the tropics. 

These rarely seen Warblers live in wild thickets 
bordering w r oods, and in open, scrubby woodland. 
They are great insect-hunters and when fruit-trees 
are in blossom sometimes visit orchards. Their com- 
mon song is " two drawled wheezy notes swee-chee; 
the first inhaled, the second exhaled." 

The nest is on the ground, and the eggs, 4 to 6, 
are lightly speckled. 



YELLOW WARBLER 61 



Parula Warbler :* Compsothlypis americana. 

Length loss than 5 inches. 

Upper parts bluish-gray, a yellowish patch on the back. 
Throat and breast yellow, an inconspicous dark band across 
the breast. 

Resident (uncommon) from April 20 to October 15; win- 
ters from Florida southward. 

Parulas are common in migration but rare at other 
times. Some, however, always nest near Kensington, 
and at Great Falls on the Virginia side, building in 
the hanging Usnea moss which grows in those locali- 
ties. One of their dainty nests may be seen at the 
Smithsonian. The eggs, 4 to 5, are creamy white, 
lightly speckled with cinnamon-brown. 

The song of the Parula resembles that of the 
Prairie Warbler. 



Yellow Warbler; Summer Yellowbird: Dendroica 
(Estiva. 

Length about 5 inches. 
Male, general color, bright yellow. 
Under parts streaked with chestnut-red. 
Female^ much duller, without streaked breast. 
Resident (common) from April 20 to September 30; win- 
ters in Northern South America. 

Yellow Warblers are abundant in spring, and by 
the last week in April their happy voices are heard 
all over the city. Their song is a pleasant little 
warble, that has been written, zvce-chcc, chcc-clicc, 
che 7 '-wee. 

* The Usnea Warbler, a rather recently described sub- 
species of the Parula with a more northern breeding range, 
differs principally in having the band across the breast 
broad and conspicuous. See Auk, Tan. 1896, p. 44. 



62 YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER 

Most of them soon pass on north or into uiie coun- 
try, but some always remain to nest in the parks and 
gardens of the city. They build in shrubbery or in 
the smaller trees, and the nest is usually in an upright 
fork. Fine grasses and plant-down are the choice 
materials used, very compactly woven together. The 
eggs, 4 to 5, are bluish white, thickly speckled with 
brown. 

In the country these Warblers are frequently im- 
posed upon by the Cowbird, but they show great 
ingenuity in getting rid of the obnoxious Qgg by 
building a second story to their nest, thus covering it 
out of sight. 

Yellow Warblers are among our most useful bird 
citizens, for besides winged-insects they eat canker- 
worms, spiders, plant-lice and small beetles. 

Yellow-throated Warbler: Dendroica dominica. 

Length S T A inches. 

Upper parts gray; a yellow line in front of the eye and a 
white line over it. 

Forehead and cheeks black; white patch on side of the 
neck; two white wing-bars. 

Throat and breast yellow; belly white, sides streaked with 
black. 

A rare summer resident, sometimes common in late July; 
winters in the tropics. 

This handsome Warbler frequents woods that bor- 
der streams, but he is a southern bird and is seldom 
seen as far north as this. His song is said to 
resemble that of the Indigo-bird. 

The nest is high in trees, often in pines. The eggs, 
4 to 5, are thickly speckled with brown. 



PRAIRIE WARBLER 63 



Pine Wcibler: Dendroica vigorsii. 



^ u 



Length $ ] /> inches. 

Upper parts bright olive-green; two whitish wing-bars; 
white patches on outer tail-feathers. 

Under parts bright yellow. Female much duller. 

Resident (rare in early summer) from March 28 to October 
25; winters in the Southern States and the Bahamas. 

The Pine Warbler is well named, for he is seldom 
found elsewhere than in pine woods, where he hunts 
the trees over in search of the insects which live in 
crevices of the bark. 

The nest is built at the end of a branch, where it 
is concealed by a tuft of pine needles. Four white 
eggs are laid, speckled with purple and brown. Al- 
though but few of these Warblers nest in this vicinity 
they are very common in early autumn, from the first 
of August to about the end of September. Their 
song is a clear, musical trill, resembling that of the 
Chipping Sparrow. 

Prairie Warbler: Dendroica discolor. 

Length less than 5 inches. 

Upper parts olive-green; a broken patch of chestnut-red 
on the back; wing-bars yellowish, a yellow line over the 
eye, white patches on the tail. 

Under parts bright yellow, the sides streaked with black. 

Resident (very common) from April 20 to September; 
winters in southern Florida and the West Indies. 

The Prairie is much like the Pine Warbler, but he 
is smaller and his sides are streaked with black. The 
reddish patch on his back — if it can be seen — iden- 
tifies him surely. His chosen haunts are wild, bushy 
fields and thickets of young evergreens. His song is 
a sweet zec-ing run up the scale, and may always be 



64 OVEN-BIRD 

heard in the Zoo in May and June. He is an expert 
fly-catcher and his food is largely winged insects. 

The nest is likely to be in a briary bush or small 
evergreen, and the eggs, 3 to 6, are white, spotted 
with reddish-brown. 

Oven-bird; Golden-crowned Thrush: Seiurus auro- 
capillus. 

Length about 6 inches. 

Upper parts brownish olive-green. 

Under parts white, the breast and sides spotted with black 
like a thrush. 

Center of the crown golden-brown, bordered by black lines. 

Resident (abundant) from April 20 to October 15; winters 
in the West Indies and Central America. 

This is one of the commonest birds of our woods, 
and although classed among the Warblers, he has 
none of their proverbial restlessness or fancy for tree- 
tops, but spends most of his time on the ground 
scratching among the dead leaves for bugs and 
worms. He is known by his walk — for he is one of 
the few birds that do not hop — and. by the thrush- 
like markings on his breast. He is so abundant that 
in May and June the woods ring with his peculiar 
chant, a rapid crescendo resembling chee-chee-r/zrc- 
chee-Chee. He also has a wonderful flight song 
which we hear but rarely, and only in nesting-time. 
Miss Merriam writes of it, " Though you think you 
know the Golden-crown, you have not realized what 
manner of bird he is until you have heard his famous 
love-song. It is as if a musician who has been play- 
ing scales had suddenly changed to an impassioned 
rhapsody. His ecstacy carries h l 'm off his feet and 
he flies higher and higher into the air, pouring out his 
rapturous love-song. . I have often heard fragments 



LOUISIANA WATER- THRUSH 65 

of this song in the stillness of the night, when it is 
peculiarly poetic, as if the bird's joyous dreams had 
aroused him." 

Dr. Richmond says, " This love-song may some- 
times be heard in the Soldiers' Home woods. Late 
May or June is the proper time and just before dusk. 
The song has some of the characters of an Indigo's 
performance." 

The nest is built on the ground in dead leaves, and 
so artfully concealed that finding one is an event in 
which to take pride as well as pleasure. I once 
searched for days around a spot where I had seen an 
Oven-bird go down with a worm in its bill, and only 
found the nest at last by strategy — getting the Mas- 
ter of the House to absorb the attention of the birds 
by walking about in conspicuous shirt-sleeves, while I 
slipped into a clump of bushes near by. When he had 
gone and the birds believed themselves unobserved, 
one again dropped to the ground and I watched it 
run to the nest, some distance away. The nest is 
roofed over with leaves, and even to a close observer 
seems only a slight natural elevation. The entrance 
is at one side, and no nestlings have an easier time 
getting out into the big world than do the little Oven- 
birds. The eggs, 4 to 5, are white, speckled with 
brown. 

Louisiana Water-Thrush: Schirus motacilla. 

Length 6% inches. 

Upper parts grayish-olive; a conspicuous white line over 
the eye. 

Under parts white, streaked like a Thrush, except on the 
throat. ^ 

Resident (rare) from April 14 to September 5; winters in 
the tropics. 



66 KENTUCKY WARBLER 

The Water-Thrush frequents small streams where 
they Mow through wild woods, and may be found on 
those that run into Rock Creek and the Potomac. 
He walks, like the Oven-bird, with a peculiar teeter- 
ing motion, and he also resembles that bird in gen- 
eral appearance, but will be distinguished from him 
by the white line over the eye. He is very shy and 
difficult to approach. The nest, of twigs, rootlets and 
leaves, is generally under a shelving bank or the up- 
turned roots of a fallen tree. The eggs, 4 to 6, are 
white, much speckled with reddish-brown. Mr. 
Chapman writes enthusiastically of his song and says 
kk There is an almost fierce wildness in its ringing 
notes." 

Kentucky Warbler: Geothlypis formosa. 

Length about S T A inches. 

Upper parts bright olive-green; no wing-bars or tail- 
patches. 

Under parts bright yellow. 

Crown, cheeks, and sides of throat black. 

Resident from May 5 to September 5; winters in Central 
America. 

In " Birds of Village and Field," Miss Merriam 
writes so delightfully of her introduction to the Ken- 
tucky Warbler, that her story is given in full. " In 
the neighborhood of Washington, one of the best 
places for birds on the spring migration is along the 
eastern wooded bank of the Potomac. There, above 
High Island, opposite the ' amphitheatre/ one day 
early in May, we heard a song so like the famous 
Carolina Wren's that we hurried off in its direction. 
Crossing on a fallen tree that bridged the narrow arm 
of the Potomac, we were on the little island where 
the bird was singing. The song receded as we ad- 



KENTUCKY WARBLER 67 

vanced, and we forced our way through the dense 
tangle of undergrowth to follow it, till we came sud- 
denly upon a forest garden, a great blue rug spread 
on the floor of the woodland and lit up by the sun 
coining through the skylights of the freshly leafing 
trees. The delicacy of the light blue phlox and its 
vine-like tracery of meadow rue made an exquisite 
spring picture. There was such a luxuriant growth 
of the phlox that negroes were picking it for the 
market. As we stood absorbed on the edge of the 
garden, suddenly, right before us, rang out the Wren- 
like song we had been following, and on a low bush, 
with head thrown back, the bird was singing. But 
— the brown Wren was a brilliant yellow, with black 
velvety bands bordering his throat! A Kentucky 
Warbler, we exclaimed in excited whispers, and then 
stood silent, afraid of startling the bird that, quite 
unmindful of us, now hopped down to the ground, 
and now mounted a bush to sing. ' Klur-wee, klur- 
wee, klur-wee,' we repeated after him, to test for our- 
selves Mr. Torrey's phrasing of it, and, indeed, at 
times the bird pronounced the syllables as distinctly 
as a person. And with what richness of tone! 
Surely it is a song that goes well with the songster. 
Mr. Torrey, referring to his note-book, copies the 
exclamation made in the field, ' It is a beauty ! ' and 
no one, seeing the bird for the first time in such a 
setting as we saw him, can fail to share his enthusi- 
asm." 

This Warbler, like the Oven-bird, is a walker. His 
haunts are tangled woods near water, and he may 
be looked for along the Potomac on the Virginia 
side, on the islands near Glen Echo, back of Mar- 
shall Hall, and in similar places, but he is nowhere 



68 MAR YLA ND YELL O IV- THE OA T 

abundant in this section of the country. His nest is 
bulky, " of twigs and rootlets, firmly wrapped with 
several thicknesses of leaves/' on or near the ground. 
The eggs, 4 to 5, are grayish-white, covered with fine 
speckles and coarser blotches. 

Maryland Yellow-throat: Gcothlypis trichas. 

Length about 5% inches. 

Male, upper parts olive-green; a broad black band bor- 
dered with gray, across the forehead, passing through and 
beyond the eyes. 

Throat and breast bright yellow. 

Female, without black mask, and her yellow breast duller. 

Resident (abundant) from April 20 to October 20; win- 
ters in the Southern States, West Indies and Central Amer- 
ica. 

The Yellow-throat is an active, energetic little bird 
with a nervous habit of jerking his tail. He is a 
common inhabitant of thickets that border streams, 
and in spring migration he visits orchards and gar- 
dens to get the insects from fruit blossoms. His 
food is exclusively caterpillars, insects and larvae, 
and he is entirely useful. His call-note is a sharp 
cluick and his common song is given as fit a witch? a, 
several times repeated, and as zvitchery, zvitchcry, 
witchery. He has also a pleasant chatter as he flits 
about the bushes, and rarely a warbling flight song. 
The. last, Mr. Chapman says, " is usually uttered 
toward evening, when the bird springs several feet 
into the air, hovers a moment, and then drops back 
into the bushes." 

The nest is generally on the ground and so well 
hidden and guarded that it is not likely to be found by 
searching, nor will the vigilant birds be surprised 
into revealing its locality. The eggs, 3 to 5, are 
white, thinly speckled. 



YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT 69 

Yellow-breasted Chat: Icteria virens. 

Length about 7^ inches; largest of his family. 

Upper parts bright olive-green; black and white mark- 
ings in front of and around eyes; no wing-bars. 

Throat and breast bright yellow; belly white. 

Resident (common) from May 1 to September; winters 
in Central America. 

The handsome Chat is a mocker and a ventrilo- 
quist, and the first time you hear his astonishing per- 
formance, you wonder if you are listening to one bird 
or half a dozen; and where is the singer? Is he in 
this tree or that, over your head, or across the 
stream? As Mr. Burroughs says, " Now he barks 
like a puppy, then quacks like a Duck, then rattles 
like a Kingfisher, then squalls like a fox, then caws 
like a Crow, then mews like a cat: C-r-r-r-r-r-whrr — 
that's it — chcc — quack, cluck, yit-yit-yit — now hit it — 
tr-r-r — when — caw — caw — cut — tea-boy — who, who — 
mew, mew. You may be pardoned for doubting that 
a bird can produce so strange a series of noises, but 
if you will go to the Chat's haunts in thickety open- 
ings in the woods, or other bushy places, and let him 
speak for himself, you will admit that our alphabet 
cannot do him justice. To hear the Chat is one 
thing, to see him quite another. But he will repay 
study, and if you will conceal yourself near his home 
you may see him deliver part of his repertoire while 
on the wing, with legs dangling, wings and tail flap- 
ping, and his whole appearance suggesting that of a 
bird who has had an unfortunate encounter with a 
charge of shot. But if the Chat's song is surprising 
when heard during the day, imagine the effect it cre- 
ates at night when he has the stage to himself, for he 
. is one of our few birds who sing regularly and freely 
during the night, moonlit nights being most often 
selected." 



/O AMERICAN REDSTART 

The Chat is a common summer resident and may 
be found in thickets on the edges of woods and in 
wild bushy fields, preferably near water. He is gen- 
erally heard in the Zoo, often near the main entrance. 
The nest is bulky, of grasses, leaves and wild grape 
vine, and is usually in the crotch of a bush near the 
ground. The eggs, 4 to 5, are white, marked with 
reddish-brown. 

American Redstart: Sctophaga ruticilla. 

Length about 5^ inches; tail long. 

Male, upper parts, throat, and breast shining black. 

Sides of the breast brilliant reddish-orange; belly white. 

Wings and tail with orange band and wings lined with 
orange. 

Female, very different; greenish-gray where the male is 
black, and yellow where he is red. 

Uncommon in summer; winters in the tropics. 

This little beauty is rarely seen here in mid-sum- 
mer, but during the spring migration, from April 
eighteenth to the middle of May he is abundant, and 
is scarcely less so from the middle of August to the 
last of September. He will be found in trees in 
woodland, and is so active that it is hard to get him 
within the focus of your glass; but you can be sure 
of him without it, from his habit of constantly open- 
ing and shutting his tail like a fan as he flits zig-zag 
over the branches, searching for ants and spiders. 

In Cuba he bears the pretty name of " Candelita," 
meaning little torch, so glowing is -the flame-color on 
his coat. His song resembles the whistle in a rubber 
toy, although that comparison does not do it justice, 
for it is not unmusical. 

Redstarts build a compact little nest in the crotch 
of a tree, ten to twenty feet up. The eggs, 4 to 5, 
are spotted, chiefly at the larger end, with reddish- 
brown. 



VIREOS. 

The Vireos, or Greenlets, are dainty little birds 
whose leaf-tinted dress harmonizes so perfectly with 
the foliage of their haunts that they often pass un- 
noticed. They have sweet voices, and build beautiful 
basket nests, suspended from forked twigs. They 
are insect eaters and are most useful in preserving 
our shade trees from the ravages of caterpillars, inch- 
worms, and leaf-eating beetles. Four species nest 
here, the Red-eye, White-eye, Warbling, and Yellow- 
throated, while in migration the Blue-headed, and 
possibly the Philadelphia, may be seen. 

Red-eyed Vireo: Vireo olivaceiis. 

Length about 6 inches. 

Upper parts grayish-green; crown gray, bordered with 
black. 

A conspicuous white line over the red eye. 

Under parts pure white. 

Resident (abundant) from April 25 to October 15; winters 
in Central and South America. 

The Red-eye is the most common of our Vireos 
and is found wherever there are large trees — in wood- 
land, in orchards, and in the shade trees of our lawns. 
Mr. Burroughs writes : " The first among the less 
common birds which I identified when I began the 
study of ornithology, was the Red-eyed Vireo, the 
little gray bird with a line over its eye, that moves 
about all day with its incessant cheerful warble, and it 
so fired mv enthusiasm that before the end of the 



72 WARBLING VIREO 

season I had added a dozen or more (to me) new 
birds to my list." 

The Red-eye is always hunting among the foliage 
for his insect food, and is most commonly seen with 
upturned head, carefully gleaning from the under 
side of leaves. He sings, or talks, as he works, in 
short musical sentences, given between mouthfuls, 
" Where's a worm? Where's a caterpillar? Where's 
a worm? he queries as he goes, answering his own 
questions very comfortably to himself," as Miss Mer- 
riam says. While his summer diet is chiefly insects, 
late in the season he eats berries and wild grapes, and 
Dr. Warren tells us " His white shirt front is often 
soiled with the bright juices of the fruits on which 
he feeds." 

The basket nest of the Red-eye is woven of strips 
of grape-vine bark and lined w r ith finer material. It 
hangs rather low from a forked twig, about which it 
is so firmly woven that it often withstands the winter 
storms in good condition, so well indeed that one 
must look twice to ascertain if it be old or new. The 
eggs, 3 to 4, are white, lightly speckled at the larger 
end. 

This Vireo has a loud complaining note when 
troubled, somewhat like the Catbird's mewing cry. 

Warbling Vireo : Vireo gilvus. 

Length 554 inches. 

Upper parts grayish-green; no wing-bars. 
Under parts white, slightly washed with yellowish. 
Resident (rather common) from April 28 to September 10; 
winters in the tropics. 

Warbling Vireos are city birds, and when you wish 
to make their acquaintance you must take your opera- 



YELLOU -THROATED VIREO 73 

glass and go to Lafayette or Franklin Park or to 
the Smithsonian grounds, rather than to the woods. 
They will be found in the upper stories of large trees, 
where they hang their pensile nests and warble the 
happy days away. These are thought to be the 
sweetest of the Vireo singers, and Langille charac- 
terizes their song as " an inimitable melody like that 
of some celestial flute or flageolet, never out of tune 
and never failing to charm." 

Warbling Vireos have no distinguishing marks 
and their soft tints are almost exactly those of a pop- 
lar leaf. 

Yellow-throated Vireo: Vireo Havifrons. 

Length about 6 inches. 

Upper parts bright olive-green; two distinct white wing- 
bars. 

Throat and breast bright yellow; belly white. 

Resident (common) from April 20 to September 15; win- 
ters in the tropics. 

This Vireo is distinguished from the rest of his 
family by his bright yellow breast. He has the same 
coloring as the Yellow T -breasted Chat, but is decidedly 
smaller a*nd the Chat has no white wing-bars. While 
the Yellow-throat is considered a woodland bird, he 
is not shy and often comes near dwellings to build 
his nest, which is the prettiest of all the Vireo baskets, 
being decorated outside with delicate white lichens. 
It is generally found at the end of an oak branch, 
where it is sheltered from sun and rain, and hidden 
from observation by the thick overhanging leaves. 
Often the end of one or two leaves will be glued to 
the edge of the nest, making a secure canopy. In a 
nest found near Rockville, the hateful Cowbird had 



74 WHITE-EYED VIREO 

deposited an egg, and soon after hatching, one of the 
Vireo babies was smothered in the over-crowded 
domicile. The strong, young Cowbird was the first 
to fly and the parent Vireos had a hard time trying to 
satisfy his ravenous appetite and yet care for their 
own nestlings. They came back to the nest at 
longer and longer intervals, finally deserting it en- 
tirely, and leaving the little Vireos to die of starva- 
tion. All Vireos are likely to be victims of Cowbird 
depravity, and when- a large egg is found in a nest, 
it is only humane to throw it out. 

The song of the Yellow-throat is much like that*of 
the Red-eye, but his voice is richer, and his musical 
sentences are more connected. 

White-eyed Vireo: Vireo noveboracensis. 

Length S l A inches. 

Upper parts bright olive-green; two distinct yellowish 
wing-bars. Eyes white. 

Under parts white, breast and sides washed with greenish- 
yellow. 

Resident (common) from April 20 to October 7; winters 
from Florida southward. 

Tangled, swampy thickets are the favorite haunts 
of the White-eye, and there the pensile nest will be 
hung, generally on the forked branch of a bush. 
These Vireos have a fancy for using bits of news- 
paper in their nest, and by that the owners may be 
known. One pair advertised u The Outlook " by 
turning a piece of its title-page to the passers-by. 
Their eggs, like those of all Vireos, are pointed and 
lightly speckled at the larger end. 

The White-eye resents intrusion, and when we in- 
vade his premises we are more likely to hear a sharp 



WHITE-EYED VIREO 75 

chuck-chuck than his brilliant song. Mr. Chapman 
says, "He is a capital mimic and in the retirement of 
his home sometimes amuses himself by combining the 
songs of other birds in an intricate potpourri." 

-One must be very near him or have a good glass 
lo see the white iris which gives this Vireo his name. 



7 6 



CEDAR WAXWING 




CEDAR-BIRD. 



Cedar Waxwing: Am pel is cedrorum. 

Length 7 inches. 

Whole body delicate fawn-color. A conspicuous crest. 

Area around bill, and line through the eye velvety black, 
a yellow band across the end of the tail; wings often with 
red wax-like tips. In young birds, the breast is paler and 
striped. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

In spring and early summer, Cedar-birds are abun- 
dant, and are then always in small flocks like the 
Goldfinches. They have a characteristic way of fly- 
ing close together, and when they light often sit hud- 
dled in a row. Mrs. Wright says, " Your best 
chance to watch them is either before the leaves are 



CEDAR WAXWING 77 

out or after they have fallen, when a flock will some- 
times sit for half an hour in a bare tree, exchanging 
civilities, stroking each other's feathers and passing- 
food around. One will find a dainty morsel and offer 
it to his next neighbor who passes it on — hunt-the 
slipper fashion — until some one makes up his mind to 
eat it or returns it to the original owner/' 

In spring Cedar-birds visit orchards to get the 
insects which infest the bark and blossoms of fruit 
trees, and of which they eat enormous quantities. If 
later, when cherries are ripe, they return for their 
well-earned share, we will not grudge it. Although 
not at all shy when in flocks, coming freely into the 
gardens and parks of the city, after they separate and 
retire to woods or orchards for the breeding season, 
they are so quiet and stealthy in their ways that they 
are less frequently seen than much rarer birds. They 
nest late, seldom before the middle of June. The nest 
is bulky, and is generally in trees, from ten to twenty 
feet above the ground. The eggs, 3 to 5, are gray- 
ish-white, speckled and spotted with black. 

Waxwings are especially abundant in autumn, 
when they roam about in large flocks, young and old 
together. 



SWALLOWS. 

Swallows have long, powerful wings, small, weak 
feet, and wide, gaping bills. Much of their time is 
spent in the air in pursuit of winged insects, and as 
they destroy incalculable numbers of flies and mos- 
quitoes, they are among our most valuable birds. 
We have nesting here the Barn, Bank, Rough- 
winged, and Eave Swallows, and the Purple Martin. 
In migration the Tree Swallow is common. 

Purple Martin: Progne subis. 

Length 8 inches. 

Shining bine-black all over; tail bnt slightly forked. 
Female duller, and grayish-white below. 
Resident (uncommon) from April 15 to September; win- 
ters in Central and South America. 

The unbroken color and large size of the Martin 
distinguish him from other Swallows. He is a bird 
that likes the proximity of man and was once very 
common in Washington, nesting in bird houses, and 
also numerously in the capitals of the columns of our 
public buildings, but the aggressive, nagging English 
Sparrows have driven him away. He is a brave bird 
and will fight Hawks and Owls — so that farmers put 
up boxes for him in their barnyards as protection to 
poultry — but he cannot endure the persecution of the 
Sparrows. " Dr. John R. Everhart, of West Chester, 
Pa., appreciating that his flock of chattering Martins 
was rapidly diminishing before the advance of the 



PURPLE MARTIN 79 

Sparrows, sonic few years ago erected in his yard 
a large pole with cross-pieces, from which he sus- 
pended, by brass wire chains, each about eighteen 
inches long, a number of boxes, in which the Mar- 
tins, also Wrens and Bluebirds, nest without any 
trouble from their feathered enemy. The swaying 
motion of these pendent boxes appears to frighten 
the Sparrows, as not one has ever been observed to 
alight on or enter them." (Warren.) 

Besides the Martin's cheerful twittering, he has a 
loud musical call cJwc-u, several times repeated, and a 
charming, liquid, warbling song; his flight is swift 
and graceful, he devours quantities of insects, espe- 
cially mosquitoes, wasps, bees and beetles, and is alto- 
gether a most desirable neighbor. 



So 



BARN SWALLOW 




BARN SWALLOW. 

Barn Swallow: Hirundo erythrogastra. 

Length 7 inches; tail nearly half the length. 

Upper parts steel-blue; tail deeply forked, with while 
spots. 

Throat and upper breast chestnut-red; a steel-blue collar; 
belly white. 

Resident (common) from April 1 to September; winters 
in South America. 

His long, forked tail and chestnut breast identify 
the Barn Swallow. Seen from below, the spots on 
the tail show as a white band. 



EAVE SWALLOW 8l 

When not skimming through the air after insects, 
these swallows are likely to be seen perched in rows 
on telegraph wires, where 

" They twitter and flutter and fold their wings; 

Perhaps they think that for them and their sires 
Stretched always, on purpose, those wonderful strings." 

Barn swallows once built in caves, but now univer- 
sally in barns or old vacant dwellings. The nest is 
of mud and hay plastered against a rafter, and inside 
is good soft stuffing of hay and feathers. A perch- 
ing place is often built near, where the male roosts at 
night, and to which the young birds take their first 
outing. The eggs, 4 to 6, are white, thickly spotted 
with brown. 

Dr. Brewer writes of these Swallows: " There is 
no evil blended with the many benefits they confer 
on man; they destroy the insects that annoy his cattle, 
injure his fruit trees, sting his fruit or molest his 
person." 

Barn Swallows are famous for their wonderful flights 
in migration, when it is said they fly fifteen hours a 
day, and as swift as a mile a minute. 

Eave Swallow ; Cliff Swallow : Petrochelidon luni- 
frons. 

Length 6 inches. 

Back and crown steel-blue; forehead whitish; throat and 
sides of head chestnut. 

Breast brown, a steel-blue patch in center; belly white. 

A light rusty spot on the rump; tail not forked. 

Resident (rare) from April to September; winters in the 
tropics. 

The distinguishing mark of this Swallow is the 
light spot on the rump, and he may readily be known 
from his neighbor, the Barn Swallow, by his short, 

6 



82 BANK SWALLOW 

unforked tail. Eave Swallows build most interest- 
ing adobe nests under the eaves of barns and other 
outbuildings, or beneath the edge of an overhanging 
cliff. These ingenious nests are shaped like a flat- 
tened gourd or water-bottle, and are plastered against 
the ceiling, the neck of the bottle — from three to five 
inches long — having a slight downward curve. They 
are constructed of bits of clay rolled into pellets, and 
stuck together with some mucilaginous substance, 
making a rather brittle, pebbly-looking wall. 

It is believed that the settlement of these Swallows 
in a neighborhood is determined by the presence of 
the right sort of clay for their masonry. They are 
greatly persecuted by English Sparrows, which try 
to take possession of their nests, and they will desert 
any place when the Sparrows become too numerous. 

It is estimated that every Eave Swallow destroys 
a thousand insects a day — flies, mosquitoes, wheat- 
midgets, and the beetles that injure fruit-trees. 

Bank Swallow : Clivicola rip aria. 

Length 5 inches. 

Upper parts grayish-brown, a band of the same color 
across the white breast. 

Resident from April 15 to September 25. Winters as far 
south as Brazil. 

This, the smallest of our Swallows, is known by the 
dark band across his breast. He is rather common 
about Washington and may be looked for wherever 
sand banks rise perpendicularly out of the water, for 
he nests in holes excavated in a vertical wall. The 
nest is generally two or three feet in from the en- 
trance, and the white eggs, 4 to 6, are unmarked. 
Bank Swallows nest in colonies, and rows of their 






ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW 83 

nesting* holes may be seen in the Potomac banks 
below the city, and at Bay Ridge. 

The Bank Swallow is famous for having a greater 
range than any other land bird, and is found over the 
entire temperate portion of the world. 

Rough-winged Swallow: Stelgidopteryx serripennis. 

Length S Z A inches. 
Upper parts brownish-gray. 
Throat and breast paler gray, belly white. 
The outer wing-feather has a series of recurved hooklets. 
Resident (common) from April 7 to September; winters 
in the tropics. 

The Rough-winged is much like the Bank Swallow 
in general appearance, but without the dark band 
across the breast. He nests in holes in sand-banks, 
although not in colonies like the Bank Swallow, and 
he does not excavate for himself, but takes a ready- 
made burrow, sometimes the abandoned hole of a 
Kingfisher. Most frequently, however, he builds in 
cavities in masonry, and all along the canal above 
Georgetown nests may be found in crevices of the 
canal walls; also about Aqueduct Bridge and at Glen 
Echo. 

These nests are usually composed of bits of dead 
leaves, but Dr. Coues says that the birds take any 
material that is at hand, and tells of a nest near a 
poultry yard which was entirely of feathers. The 
eggs, 4 to 5, are pure white. 



84 SCARLET TANAGER 

Scarlet Tanager: Piranga erythromelas. 

Length j l /\. inches. 

Male, bright scarlet, except wings and tail, which are 
black. 

Female, olive-green above, greenish-yellow below. 

Resident (not common) from April 28 to October 7; win- 
ters in Central and northern South America. 

This brilliant beauty is a northern bird and has no 
fancy for the lowlands about Washington, but as the 
country rises north and west of the city one is occa- 
sionally seen, and as far out as Rockville and Sandy 
Spring, he is not uncommon. During the spring 
migration he is abundant everywhere, and a common 
and picturesque sight is a flock of Scarlet Tanagers 
flitting about in the blossoming dogwood trees. The 
males precede the females by several days, and no one 
would guess that the demure leaf-tinted birds follow- 
ing along by themselves belong to the gay, stylish 
company ahead. 

The Tanager's scarlet coat is a shining mark for 
bird enemies, both animal and human, as the beauty 
doubtless knows, for he always greets intruders with 
an anxious, querulous chip-churr quite at variance with 
his joyous tree-top song— a swinging song which 
bears a strong resemblance to that of the Robin. 

While the natural habitat of Tanagers is secluded 
woodland, they sometimes come close to dwellings 
to build, evidently seeking protection from Crows 
and other enemies. Their nest is frequently on the- 
lower branch of a large tree, and is likely to overhang 
a path or wood-road. 

Scarlet Tanagers will immediately desert an unfin- 
ished nest if they find themselves watched, and in 
studying their operations one must be exceedingly 



SUMMER TANAGER 85 

wary to keep them for neighbors. The nest is built 
of fine rootlets and its walls are often so thin that the 
eggs can be counted from below. The eggs, 3 to 4, 
are bluish-white, much speckled with brown. 

Summer Tanager : Piranga rubra. 

Length jy 2 inches. 

Male, rose-red all over, except a little brown on the wings. 
Female, olive-green above, and yellowish below. 
Resident (uncommon) from April 15 to September 25; 
winters in Central and South America. 

The Summer Tanager is less brilliant than his scar- 
let cousin and without the black wings and tail. 
He is a bird of the Southern States, and Washington 
is nearly the northern limit of his breeding range. 
While uncommon in this vicinity, he is not so rare 
near the city as the Scarlet Tanager, and may gener- 
ally be found at Takoma Park and Brookland, also 
at Mount Vernon. He likes open, deciduous woods, 
and builds much like the Scarlet. 

Mr. Ridgway thinks the Summer Tanager a finer 
songster than the Scarlet and says his song is " very 
Robin-like but much more vigorous and sustained 
than that of the Robin." His call-note is given as 
pe-tup-ka. 



SPARROWS, ETC. 

Grosbeaks, Finches and Sparrows are included in 
one family, and so we find classed together, the bril- 
liant Cardinal, sunshiny Goldfinch, and plain little 
Chippy. While these differ greatly in form, color 
and habits, they are all alike in being seed-eaters, and 
have stout, conical bills, admirably adapted to cracking 
seeds. 

The dull-colored birds live generally in open fields 
where their brownish, striped coats make them almost 
invisible to enemies, while those of brighter plumage 
find it safer to keep under the cover of trees. 

All these birds feed largely on insects in summer, 
but the rest of the year they live almost entirely on 
seeds of weeds and grasses. Their economic value 
as destroyers of the seeds of injurious plants cannot 
be overestimated. 

Those of this family resident here in summer are 
the Indigo-bird, Blue and Cardinal Grosbeaks, Che- 
wink, Goldfinch, Song, Field, Vesper, Chipping, 
Grasshopper, and Henslow's Sparrows. Several of 
these remain through the winter. (See list of winter 
birds,' page 189.) 

American Goldfinch ; Thistle-bird : Astragalinus 

tristis. 

Length 5 inches. 
Male, whole body bright yellow. 

Cap, wings and tail black, with some white markings. 
Female, brownish, without black cap> her wings and tail 
dark brown. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

It is easy to know the merry. Goldfinches from other 
yellow birds by the black wings and tail, and the 



GOLDFINCH 87 

" little black cap tipped down over the eyes." They 
are also known by their bounding flight " as if sailing 
over imaginary billows. " They sing as they go, Per- 
chic-o-ree or O-zvait-for-me, in the sweetest of voices. 
They are often called " Wild Canaries/' and both their 
call and warbling love-song resemble those of the 
common Canary, but the notes have a more plaintive 
tenderness. 

Goldfinches are always in small flocks except when 
nesting, and they are the latest of all our birds to 
build. Indeed, the happy-go-lucky little creatures 
put off their housekeeping so long it is a wonder that 
some Goldfinch babies are not frost-bitten before they 
get their feathers. Although supposed to build in 
July, we found a nest near Washington in which the 
last egg hatched the first day of September and have 
heard of others still later. The little home is ex- 
quisite, composed largely of thistle-down, or other 
plant down, interlaced and bound together with fine 
strips like grape-vine bark. It is often built in a 
fruit-tree, resting on a horizontal branch and woven 
about some upright twigs. The eggs, 3 to 6, match 
well the dainty nest, being clear white, tinged with 
green or blue. 

If you want a flower garden gay with Goldfinches 
plant in one corner small sun-flowers and fancy 
grasses, and when their seeds are ripe the birds will 
surely come. In autumn the male Goldfinch changes 
his yellow coat for a brown one, like that of his mate. 



88 VESPER SPARROW 

Vesper Sparrow ; Grass Finch : Pooecetes gramineus. 

Length 6 inches. 

Upper parts brown streaked with black. 

Under parts white, breast and sides streaked with black. 

Outer tail-feathers white. 

A rare permanent resident, but abundant in migrations. 

In spring and autumn, Vesper Sparrows are seen 
in small flocks, when they are readily known by their 
white tail-feathers, which are very conspicuous as 
they fly. They are true to the name of Grass Finch 
and keep to grassy fields, preferably to those that are 
high and dry. We seldom see them outside of migra- 
tions, although their nests have been found in a wild 
field north of Fort Myer, and also near Silver Spring. 
The nest is sunk in the ground, and the eggs, 4 to 5, 
are thickly spotted. 

Mr. Chapman writes of the song of the Vesper 
Sparrow: " When singing he generally selects an ele- 
vated perch and gives himself entirely to his musical 
devotions. Early morning and late afternoon are his 
favorite hours, but he can be heard at other times. 
His song, which is loud, clear, and ringing, may be 
heard at a distance of several hundred yards. It 
resembles that of the Song Sparrow, but is- sweeter 
and more plaintive. When heard in the evening it is 
. a truly inspired and inspiring melody." 



HENSL O W* S SPA RROW 89 

Grasshopper Sparrow ; Yellow- winged Sparrow : 

Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. 

Length sVa inches. 

Upper parts streaked black, brown and ashy; crown black 
with burly line through the center; bend of the wing bright 
yellow. 

Under parts buffy, unstreaked. 

Resident (common) from April 15 to October 25; winters 
from North Carolina to Cuba. 

The Grasshopper is one of the prettiest of the 
Sparrows, the dark markings above, and plain, light 
under parts having a particularly trim, tailor-made 
effect. Look for yellow on the wings and a black 
crown with a yellowish line through the center. 

Although this Sparrow is common, he is not often 
seen, as he lives in wild, weedy fields and seldom 
mounts higher than the tip of a blackberry spray, or 
at most a fence rail, to sing his odd little grasshopper- 
like song, which the listener must be very near to 
hear. The grassy nest is on the ground, and the 
eggs, 4 to 5, are white, thickly speckled. 

Henslow's Sparrow: Ammodramus henslowii. 

Length 5 inches. 
, Upper parts chestnut, streaked with brown and ashy; bend 
of the wing pale yellow; crown light olive-green, streaked 
with black. 

Under parts white, washed with buffy, the breast and sides 
finely streaked with black. 

Resident (locally common) from April 12 to October; win- 
ters in the Southern States. 

Henslow's much resembles the Grasshopper Spar- 
row, but his crown is greenish and black, and his 
breast and sides are streaked. While not generally 
distributed, in the places where found he is abundant. 



9° CHIPPING SPARROW 

His known haunts near the city are the wild fields 
about Rock Creek Church and Soldiers' Home, and 
those between Arlington and the Potomac. He is 
also common at Falls Church and Kensington. He 
keeps close in the weeds and must be hunted with 
patience and perseverance. 

The nest is on the ground in a tuft of grass, and 
the eggs, 4 to 5, are greenish-white, thickly speckled 
with reddish-brown. Dr. Richmond says, " The nest 
of both this and the Grasshopper Sparrow are so 
thoroughly concealed that expert students are often 
unable to find them/' His song is given by Mr. Jouy 
as Sis-r-r-rit — srit-srit, with the accent on the first 
and last syllables. He often sings on moonlight 
nights. 

Chipping Sparrow; Hairbird: Spizella socialis. 

Length sVa inches. 

Upper parts brownish, streaked with black; forehead 
black; top of head bright chestnut. 

Under parts grayish-white, unmarked. 

Resident (abundant) from March 15 to November; win- 
ters in the Gulf States and Mexico. 

Chippy is the smallest and most friendly of our 
common Sparrows. He might be called the little 
children's bird, he is so tame, and always on the 
ground about the house and garden. Noisy plays do 
not disturb him, and he will come almost within reach 
of the shortest arms, busily looking for food or hunt- 
ing stuff for his pretty nest. If bits of string are left 
in his way some will be found woven in or attached 
as ornament. He gets the name of Hairbird from the 
quantity of hair used in lining the nest, usually horse 
hair, or that from a cow's tail. One wonders that 



FIELD SPARROW 9 1 

enough hair can be found for so many nests, as Chip- 
ping Sparrows are very common and raise two or 
three broods in a season. They build low, in a bush 
or small tree, and the eggs, 4 to 5, are light blue, 
somewhat speckled. 

Chippy's distinguishing mark is his red-brown cap. 
When he feels like singing he chants his own name 
rapidly, in a high key, chippy-chippy-chippy-chippy. 
It is likely to be the first bird-sound at daybreak and 
the last in the evening, and is sometimes given softly 
in the night, as if to assure the brooding mate of his 
protecting presence. 

Field Sparrow: Spizcllla pusilla. 

Length 5^ inches. 

Upper parts bright reddish-brown finely streaked with 
black and ashy; crown and bill reddish-brown; whitish 
wing-bars. 

Under parts white, unstreaked, and tinged with pale red- 
dish-brown. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

The Field Sparrow is known by his red-brown 
color, and especially by the reddish bill. He is a bird 
of varied songs, all sweet and tuneful. Mr. Bur- 
roughs gives one as fe-o, fe-o, fe-o, few, few, few, fee, 
fee, fee " at first high and leisurely, but running very 
rapidly towards the close, which is low and soft/' 
There are several others commonly heard in Mary- 
land, one of which can be given very nearly on the 
piano. Take C, then A below, G adjoining, and back 
to C. Strike each key rather rapidly four times, 
except the last, which may be one note, three or five, 
and is sometimes trilled an octave higher, or it may 
be any other note than C. It must be remembered 



92 SONG SPARROW 

that bird songs vary with individual singers, and also 
that the same bird does not always sing the same 
notes. 

This Sparrow frequents wild fields, particularly 
those that are overgrown with bushes and small ever- 
greens. He may generally be found in nesting time 
in a field just west of Chevy Chase Circle, but he is 
so shy and cunning that it is difficult to get a good 
look at him, as he will usually manage to keep some- 
thing, if only a leaf, between himself and the observer. 

The nest is on the ground or in a low bush, and 
the white eggs, 4 to 5, are much speckled with brown. 

Song Sparrow: Melospiza melodia. 

Length about 6]/^ inches. 
Upper parts streaked, black, brown and gray. 
Under parts white, with conspicuous dark streaks; a dark 
blotch in center of the breast. 

Resident (abundant) all the year. 

" The blessed little Song Sparrow! " exclaims Mrs. 
Olive Thorne Miller, and so say we all. No bird is 
dearer to us than this plain-coated little fellow, whose 
sweet and cheery song is heard in all weathers 
throughout the year. It sounds especially happy in 
early spring, when with the Bluebird he announces 
the departure of winter. Go into the Smithsonian 
grounds on any mild day in March or even in Feb- 
ruary, and your heart may be thrilled by this delicious 
bit of melody. It begins often with two or three loud, 
clear notes, and then goes rippling round, according 
to the fancy of the singer. A homely translation, but 
one that helps the learner, is " Maids, maids, put on 
the tea kettle, ettle, ettle." 

The distinguishing mark of the Song Sparrow is 



CHE WINK 93 

the dark blotch on his breast. He lives near water 
and will not be found far away from it. The nest is 
on the ground or in a low bush, and the eggs, 4 to 5, 
are bluish or greenish-white, speckled with brown. 

Chewink; Towhee: Pipilo erythrophthalmus. 

Length about 8*4 inches. 

Upper parts, throat, and breast black; sides chestnut-red, 
belly white. 

Wings have white patches, and outer tail-feathers are 
edged and tipped with white. 

Female, brown, where male is black. 

Resident (very common) from April 15 to October 15; 
winters in the Southern States; may winter here. 

Passing along a country road, bordered by woods 
where the undergrowth is thick, you are likely to see 
the Chewink flitting about in the bushes, showing his 
white tail-feathers as he flies, and you may hear the 
musical questioning call which has given him his 
name — che-wink? He will also be found in any 
woodsy, bushy place where last year's leaves are not 
cleared away. 

The nest, flat on the ground, is apt to be overhung 
by that of a Catbird or Wood Thrush, while in deeply 
secluded places the Cardinal may be found in the 
same company. It is generally built in dead leaves, 
and harmonizes so perfectly with its surroundings, 
the whitish eggs being thickly speckled with brown, 
that any but the sharpest eyes will overlook it 

The Chewink is very handsome in his tri-colored 
suit of black, white, and chestnut-red, and his rich 
voice has a metallic quality which would put him 
among the brasses in full orchestra. He has only a 
few different tones, but by transposition he gets a 
variety of sweet phrases. His most common song 



94 CARDINAL 

has been translated " Come with me," the last word 
trilled on his highest note. 

Chewinks are anxious parents, as well they may be 
with their open nest at the mercy of every prowling 
cat and chipmunk. Dr. Richmond says: "If you go 
into a thicket and ' squeak up ' some birds, the first 
to come forward and complain of your presence are 
Chewinks, Catbirds and Vireos." "Squeaking" is 
imitating the cry of young birds, which may be done 
by kissing the back of the hand. 

"Marsh Robin," "Swamp Robin," and u Ground 
Robin " are local names for the Chewink. 

Cardinal; Virginia Red-Bird: Cardiiialis cardinalis. 

Length 8% inches. ^ 

Male, whole body and bill bright cardinal-red. 

A black mask surrounds the % bill and extends on the throat; 
a fine long crest. 

Female, yellowish-brown, with red bill and a little red on 
her crest, wings and tail. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

Winter and early spring are the best times to look 
for the glorious Cardinals, as they are much less shy 
than when they have a nest or young birds to guard. 
They have been so hunted for cage-birds that it is no 
wonder they are timid, and hide their nestlings in 
the wildest of wet undergrowth where we can with 
difficulty follow. A caged Cardinal, condemned to 
solitary confinement with no other occupation than 
jumping between two sticks a foot apart, is a pitiful 
sight, and not to be endured by sympathetic readers 
of that immortal story — " A Kentucky Cardinal." 

The rich delicious songs of this Grosbeak — for he 
has several — can be heard in almost any wild spot 



BLUE GROSBEAK 95 

near water. Miss Merriam * writes one as cue, cue, 
kip, kip, kip, kip," and says : " In the Washington Zoo 
Cardinals are common, and after February their song 
often rings through the bare woods." 

Blue Grosbeak : Guiraca ccerulea. 

Length 7 inches. 

Male, general color deep blue. 

Wings and tail black, edged with blue, the wings marked 
with two chestnut bands. 

Bill heavy and bluish. 

Female, upper parts grayish-brown, under parts brownish- 
buff. 

Resident (rare) from May 1 to September 30. 

The dark blue of the male Grosbeak needs sunshine 
to bring out its rich beauty, for seen in the shade 
it looks almost black. His mate is entirely different, 
having soft neutral tints which make her difficult to 
discern in the weeds and tangled briars where they 
make their home. They frequent the wild growth 
which borders small streams, and there, in the crotch 
of a bush, or in tall weeds, the grassy nest is built, 
and in it are laid three or four bluish-white eggs. 

These birds are quiet and sedate in their move- 
ments, and have a habit, fortunate for the observer, of 
sitting motionless for some minutes at a time. Mr. 
Ridgway writes : " The usual note is a strong, harsh 
ptchick, and the song of the male is a very beautiful, 
though rather feeble, warble." While Blue Gros- 
beaks are considered rare, they are not infrequently 
seen about Kensington, Falls Church and Anacostia. 

* In Birds of Village and Field. 



96 ENGL ISH SPARR O W 

Indigo Bunting : Cyanospiza cyanea. 

Length $ J A inches. 

Male, general color bright greenish-blue, darkest on the 
head, brightest on the back. 

Wings and tail black, margined with blue. 

Female, looks like a sparrow; grayish-brown above, whit- 
ish below, under parts indistinctly streaked. 

Resident (common) from May i to October 15; winters 
in Central America. 

Indigo-birds are found with the Sparrows in wild 
bushy fields. The coat of the male is one of the most 
brilliant blues in nature, but his mate is as brown and 
plain as her Sparrow companions. The Indigo is 
sometimes called " Blue Canary/' and he is an espe- 
cially happy, persistent songster, warbling on when the 
heat of summer days has silenced most birds. Al- 
though a ground bird, building in a low bush and 
feeding on worms, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, 
when not kept below by domestic duties or hunger 
he mounts to the tallest tree-top and " sings to the 
passing clouds." 

In. nesting season, Indigo-birds are almost always 
found in the grounds south of the Soldiers' Home 
bordering Glenwood Cemetery, and they are also 
heard in the Zoo, particularly near the Columbia 
Road entrance. 

English Sparrow; House Sparrow: Passer domes- 
ticus. 

Length 6%. inches. 

Male, upper parts streaked with black and chestnut; sides 
of throat white, rest of throat and breast black; white wing- 
bar. 

Female, without black breast, or white on throat or wings. 

English Sparrows are generally regarded as an un- 
mitigated nuisance, but in spite of their noise and filth, 






ENGLISH SPARROW 97 

if they could be kept in check they might be tolerated 

in the city, where they give a certain life to the streets 
and parks and furnish some entertainment to children 
and house-bound invalids. 

It is in the suburbs and country that they are most 
objectionable, for they drive away from dwellings and 
barns the native birds which would naturally build 
about them, and their incessant, unmusical cries 
drown all other bird voices. Besides being of no use 
— for they eat neither insects nor weed seeds in ap- 
preciable quantities — they are positively injurious. In 
the spring they eat the buds of fruit trees, particu- 
larly those of peach and pear trees, and of currant 
and berry bushes and grape vines, while later they 
peck at all kinds of fruit and green vegetables. They 
also eat an immense amount of grain. 

As they are such undesirable tenants, it is worth 
while in the country to make an effort to get rid of 
them. A shot-gun used occasionally is effective in 
keeping them from getting a foot-hold on a new 
place, for they are quick to take a hint., and if one or 
two of a visiting flock are killed the others fly away 
and usually do not return. Xests should be watched 
for and destroyed — an iron hook at the end of a long 
pole is useful in tearing them out. However numer- 
ous these Sparrows have become anywhere, they may 
be driven away by persistent shooting and destroying 
nests. Poison is sometimes used — grain soaked in 
arsenic or strychnine — but not many birds will be 
caught by it. and it cannot be recommended as a safe 
remedy. 



98 COWBIRD 

Cowbird: Molothrus ater. 

Length 8 inches. 

Head, neck and breast brown; rest of the plumage glossy 
black with metallic reflections. 
Female, dark gray, lighter below. 
A rare permanent resident. 

•In early May if a large gray bird is seen walking 
about the lawn, and pecking in the grass like a 
chicken, you may be sure it is the female Cowbird, 
and that the home of some happy little songster in 
the neighborhood is likely to be disturbed, if not 
ruined, by her intrusion. Mr. Chapman, in his " Birds 
of Eastern North America," writes strongly of this 
bird: "The Cowbird is an acknowledged villain and 
has no standing in the bird world. English Sparrows, 
either because they are not aware of the customs of 
New- World bird life, or because of a possible and not 
unlikely affinity, associate with him; but no self- 
respecting American bird will be found in his com- 
pany. ... In small flocks they visit both pasture and 
woodland, and are given to following cattle, clustering 
about the feet of the herd, presumably to feed on the 
insects found there. They build no nest, and the 
females, lacking every moral and maternal instinct, 
leave their companions only long enough to deposit 
their eggs in the nests of other and smaller birds. 
I can imagine no sight more strongly suggestive of 
a thoroughly despicable nature than a female Cowbird 
sneaking through the trees or bushes in search of a 
victim upon whom to shift the duties of motherhood. 

" The ill-gotten offspring are born with the Cowbird 
character fully developed. They demand by far the 
greater share of the food, and through gluttony or 
mere size alone, starve or crowd out the rightful occu- 



COWBIRD 99 

pants of the nest. They accept the attention of their 
fosterrparents long after they could care for them- 
selves; and when nothing more is to be gained, desert 
them and join the growing flocks of their kind in the 
grain fields." 

The rather large egg of the Cowbird is white, 
evenly speckled with brown. 



LcfC. 



IOO 



RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 




RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 

Red- winged Blackbird; Marsh Blackbird: Agelaius 

phoeniceus. 

Length g]/ 2 inches; female smaller. 

Male, glossy black, except the shoulders, which are scar- 
let edged with buff. 

Female, quite different; conspicuously streaked all over 
with brown, black and whitish; shoulder patches rusty-red, 
sometimes pinkish; touches of yellowish-white on wings. 

Resident (common) all the year; abundant in migrations. 

Early in March these picturesque birds arrive in 
flocks from the South, joining their hardier or more 



RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 10 1 

courageous brothers who have spent the winter here. 
The males, gorgeous in their epaulets of scarlet and 
gold, precede by some days their less showy but 
equally well-dressed wives. Quonk-er-ree. Quonk-er- 
rcc, they cry, and the musical call is as much a part 
of spring on the marshes as is the frog chorus with 
which it mingles. 

Most of the Red-wings soon pass on north, but 
some remain to breed in the marshes of the Potomac 
and Anacostia Rivers, and in other swampy places in 
the neighborhood. Their nest is built low in the 
reeds or bushes, and is composed of coarse marsh 
grasses and weed stalks, well lined with finer grass 
and rootlets. The eggs, 3 to 5, vary in color, but are 
most commonly pale blue, scrawled and blotched in 
heavy dark lines, as if done with a broad stub pen. 

These Blackbirds are most abundant in autumn, 
when they flock over the Potomac flats in company 
with the Reed-birds (Bobolinks). They begin to 
gather as early as the first week in August and grow 
more numerous with frequent arrivals from the north 
until October, when most of them depart to spend the 
winter gleaning in southern rice fields. 



102 



MEADOWLARK 




MEADOWLARK. 

Meadowlark: Sturnella magna. 

Length about n inches. 

Upper parts mixed, brown, black and buffy; outer tail- 
feathers white. 

Breast bright yellow, with a large black crescent. 
Resident (common) all the year. 

The Meadowlark will be seen flying up from a 
meadow or singing from a fence rail or a dead branch. 
He is known in flight by his white tail-feathers, and, 
when perching, if he faces you, by the black crescent 
on his yellow breast 

The Lark has a heavenly voice, and we are grateful 
to him for being so generous with it; all day long it 
rises from the meadows, and he sings much earlier 
and later in the year than most birds. In bird or- 
chestra his voice is the flute, carrying a clear, sus- 



BALTIMORE ORIOLE 103 

tained melody through all the varied music of fields 
and thickets. 

The nest is on the ground and is often domed to 
look like a tussock of dried grass. It will only be 
found by accident or diligent search, for the old birds 
do not drop directly to it, but go down some distance 
away and run along through the grass or clover. The 
rather large eggs, 4 to 6, are white, thickly speckled 
with cinnamon-brown. 

The winter plumage of the Meadowlark is much 
duller than that of summer. Prof. Beal counts him 
among our most useful birds, and says he is " entitled 
to all possible protection." 

Baltimore Oriole: Icterus galbula. 

Length yy 2 inches. 

Male, head, neck and upper back black. 

Under parts and lower back bright orange; wings and 
tail mostly black. 

Female, upper parts brown and black; under parts dull 
orange; white wing-bars. 

Resident (rather common) from May 1 to September; 
winters in Central America. 

We are always delighted when a pair of Baltimore 
Orioles elect to swing their hammock in one of our 
tree-tops. Life seems uncommonly well worth living 
when set to such joyous music as they shower down 
on us all day long in early summer; and then it is a 
rare pleasure to see the golden beauty flashing in and 
out of the foliage, and to watch the domestic ways of 
his pretty brown mate with the white wing-bars, 
whose identity was such a puzzle when we first began 
to make bird acquaintances. One little dame was 
friendly enough to let us overlook her weaving and 
to graciously accept the bits o r string we offered her. 



104 ORCHARD ORIOLE 

The Oriole's nest is a marvel of intelligence and skill, 
and one wonders that all the other birds do not learn 
weaving and take it for a model. It is a deep pocket, 
flexible and strong, hung far out at the end of a 
branch, on twigs too slender to support the weight 
of marauding crow or squirrel, and so constructed 
that the wildest winds cannot loosen it or spill out 
eggs or nestlings. Even human ingenuity could 
scarcely suggest an improvement. 

As a destroyer of injurious insects, this Oriole is of 
great value. Nearly half his food is caterpillars and 
the rest is largely beetles, ants, grasshoppers, rose- 
bugs and spiders. What a difference in our foliage, 
fruit and flowers when we have these for bird neigh- 
bors! 

While the song of the Baltimore is especially mel- 
low and flute-like, his talking note is a rather harsh 
kr-r-r-r-r. This note is usually heard when the birds 
are about, in or out of the song season. Both Balti- 
more and Orchard Orioles are likely to nest in the 
Smithsonian grounds. 

Orchard Oriole : Icterus spurius. 

Length y% inches. 

Male, head, neck and upper back black; rest of the body 
rich chestnut; wings and tail blackish. 

Female, upper parts olive-green; under parts dull yellow; 
wings dark brown with white bars. 

First year males are like females; second year males have 
a large black patch on the throat. 

Resident (common) from May i to September; winters 
in Central America. 

The Orchard Oriole is more common than the Bal- 
timore, but is less frequently noticed, as his colors 
are inconspicuous and he keeps rather close in thickly- 



PURPLE GRACKJ1-: 105 

foliaged trees. He is quite as desirable a neighbor as 
his gay cousin. Their songs are much alike, though 
that of the Orchard usually ends with a graceful 
flourish, the note next the last the highest, while the 
Baltimore leaves his hanging in mid-air with no sug- 
gestion of finish. 

As the name implies, this is a bird of the orchards, 
and the nest is generally in a fruit tree; it is pensile 
and flexible, but not so deep as the Baltimore's and 
is fastened to upright twigs, so that it has not the free 
swing of the other. It is most beautifully woven of 
fresh grasses, and often keeps its green color through- 
out the season. The eggs, 3 to 5, are bluish-white, 
spotted and scrawled with dark brown. The young, 
in pale tints of brown, green and gold, are among the 
prettiest in Birdland. Major Bendire writes: "Few 
birds do more good and less harm than the Orchard 
Oriole, especially to the fruit grower. The bulk of 
its food consists of small beetles, plant lice, flies, hair- 
less caterpillars, cabbage-worms, grasshoppers, rose- 
bugs and larvae of all kinds/' 

Purple Grackle; Crow Blackbird: Quiscahis quiscula. 

Length 12 inches. 

Head, neck and breast iridescent purple and green; rest 
of the body glossy black. 

Female, without iridescence. 

Common in migration and in summer; a few winter here; 
winters generally in the Southern States. 

The earliest of all the feathered flocks to arrive are 
the Crow Blackbirds. Often by the 20th of February 
they have taken possession of the large evergreen 
trees in the Smithsonian grounds, and " the air is 
filled with crackling, splintering, spurting semi- 



106 CROW 

musical sounds which are like pepper and salt to the 
ear." (Burroughs.) 

Grackles spend much time on the ground, hunting 
worms, grasshoppers and other insects, and as they 
walk about the city parks, or in the country over 
greening meadows and new-ploughed fields, they are 
a picturesque part of the spring landscape. 

They nest in small colonies, generally building in 
the tops of trees. The nest is bulky and deep, and 
the eggs, 4 to 6, are dingy white, scrawled and spotted 
with brown. 

American Crow: Corvus americanus. 

Length 19 inches. 

Black all over, with steel-blue and purplish reflections. 

Resident (abundant) all the year. 

Residents of Washington are familiar with the sight 
of a seemingly endless procession of Crows strag- 
gling across the sunset sky to the famous roost at 
Arlington. In the earliest morning hours the same 
birds might have been seen passing eastward to their 
feeding grounds on the Chesapeake shores. Why 
Crows should take this long journey twice a day, 
often against strong winds and winter storms, is a 
mystery; we wonder that they do not choose a roost- 
ing place nearer their food supply. 

The Arlington roost fomerly covered from twelve 
to fifteen acres, and at times as many as one hundred 
and fifty thousand Crows gathered there nightly, but 
since the winter of '94-'95 the number has been greatly 
reduced and the roost has been broken up and 
scattered into several places about the District. The 
Agricultural Department published in 1895 a bulletin, 



FISH CROW 107 

" The Common Crow," which is full of interesting 
information concerning the habits and peculiarities of 
this very intelligent bird. 

In spring Crows leave the roost and scatter over 
the country to breed, building their nests high in 
trees, generally in pines. They are most likely to 
build on the edge of the woods, but sometimes in a 
detached tree in the open. The nest is made of 
sticks, corn-husks, and other coarse material, all very 
substantially put together, and lined with grass, 
leaves and rags. It is about two feet in diameter out- 
side. Four to six eggs are laid, generally bluish- 
green, thickly marked with brown. " The young are 
born blind and naked, and remain in the nest about 
three weeks." 

If a young Crow is taken about the time he is 
ready to leave the nest, he readily adapts himself to 
new conditions and makes an interesting pet. He 
will want raw Qgg and bits of fresh meat at first, 
but afterwards any scraps from the table are accept- 
able. A tame Crow shows no preference for corn, 
and only eats it when he can get nothing else. 

Fish Crow: Corvus ossifragus. 

The Fish Crow is smaller than the Common Crow, 
but the difference is not perceptible in the field. He 
can there be distinguished only by his voice, which 
has a pronounced nasal quality. Instead of caw, he 
cries car, " as if through his nose." 

Fish Crows will not be found far from water. They 
are extremely common about Washington and are 
almost always seen in the Smithsonian grounds and 
along Rock Creek in the Zoological Park. They are 



108 BLUE JAY 

said to be more destructive to the eggs and nestlings 
of other birds than are the Common Crows. About 
the Smithsonian they have been seen picking young 
English Sparrows out of their nests. They build in 
the tops of pine trees, rather higher than other Crows. 

Blue Jay: Cyanocitta cristata. 

Length about 12 inches. 

Upper parts and crest grayish-blue; wings and fan-shaped 
tail bright blue, barred with black and patched with white. 

Under parts grayish-white, a black collar extending up 
across the back of the head. 

Resident (rather rare) all the year; common in migra- 
tions. 

The Blue Jay is so large and handsome and noisy 
that one need not hunt him with an opera glass nor 
puzzle over his identity. His shrill voice at once 
attracts attention, and the high crest, black collar, and 
barred wings and tail are all conspicuous marks. 
Among his many calls and cries one suggests his own 
name, jay, jay, another a creaking cart-wheel. 

The Jay is uncommon about Washington, which is 
not to be altogether regretted, for he is a great dis- 
turber of the peace in Birdland. Out in Maryland, 
when we hear a commotion among the woodland 
birds, we are pretty sure that a Jay or Crow is at the 
bottom of the trouble, and are more likely to hear the 
tantalizing scream of the Blue Jay as he flies off than 
the contemptuous caw of the black cannibal. Both 
these birds are nest-robbers, though ornithologists 
say the Jay is not so bad as his reputation, as few 
remains of eggs or nestlings have been found in the 
stomachs examined; so it may be concluded that he 
is more mischievous than dangerous. In watching 



BLUE JAY 109 

birds in the woods it is interesting to see how differ- 
ent species will unite against a common enemy — a 
distressed cry from one bird will often bring all the 
others in the neighborhood. 

The usefulness of the Blue Jay seems to be in eat- 
ing the moth which is destructive to grapes, and in 
planting trees. He hides nuts and acorns in holes in 
the ground and many of them sprout and grow, so 
that we are indebted to him for some of our finest 
forest trees — oak, chestnut, and beech. 

Jays build in trees, from ten to fifteen feet above 
the ground, generally where a branch joins the trunk. 
The eggs, 4 to 6, are thickly marked with cinnamon- 
brown. 



FLYCATCHERS. 

Flycatchers have big heads and shoulders, and long, 
flat bills, slightly hooked at the end. Their manner of 
feeding is hawklike: from a prominent perch, which 
gives a free, wide outlook, one will dash out after a 
passing insect, seize it with a click of the hooked bill, 
and return to his stand in readiness for the next 
comer. 

As Flycatchers live entirely on insects, they go 
south early in the fall. We have nesting here the 
Phoebe, Kingbird, Wood Pewee, the Acadian and 
Great Crested Flycatchers, and in migration may see 
the Alder, Yellow-bellied, and the Least — also called 
Chebec. 



KINGBIRD 



III 




KINGBIRD. 



Kingbird: Tyr annus tyr annus. 

Length Sy 2 inches. 

Upper parts slate-color; head black with concealed orange- 
red crest; tail black, with terminal band of white. 

Under parts white. 

Resident (common) from April 20 to September; winters 
in Central and South America. 

When a bird is seen chasing a Crow or Hawk and 
driving it far out of the neighborhood, that is prob- 
ably the brave Kingbird defending his nest. And if 
a rather large, dark gray bird with a white breast, and 
black tail tipped with white, is seen perched on a 
fence-post or telegraph wire from which he frequently 



112 GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER 

circles out, it is doubtless this Flycatcher getting his 
dinner. If near enough you would hear a sharp click 
of the bill at every foray, for he seldom misses his 
mark. 

Kingbirds are abundant, which is fortunate for the 
country, as nearly nine-tenths of their food is in- 
jurious insects. They are especially partial to potato- 
bugs, grasshoppers, and rose-chafers. 

The nest is usually in large trees, from ten to thirty 
feet up, and is placed well out on a branch. It is cup- 
shaped, built of roots and grasses and lined with finer 
stuff. Three eggs are generally laid, sometimes four, 
much blotched and speckled with brown. Dr. Rich- 
monds says " Kingbirds prefer solitary trees in which 
to build their nests, probably because they can keep 
closer watch on their preserves. ,, These birds are 
devoted to their nest and are so vigilant that it is safe 
to say it is never molested unawares. The young 
are the most petted and pampered of bird children, 
and are kept in the tree-tops and fed until they are as 
large as their parents and can be distinguished from 
them only by the shorter tail. 

The fear which Crows have of the Kings was shown 
very amusingly by a tame Crow we once had. When- 
ever Kingbirds came about the lawn the Crow would 
scurry under the porch or fly to us for protection. 

Great Crested Flycatcher: Mylar chus crinitus. 

Length 9 inches. 

Upper parts olive-green. A low pointed crest. 
Throat and breast pearl-gray, belly yellow. 
Resident (common) from April 25 to September; winters 
in southern Florida and Central America. 

The Crested Flycatcher is partial to wooded, rocky 
hillsides where arbutus and laurel grow, but he may 



GREA T CRESTED FL YCA TCHER 1 1 3 

be found in any open woods, and he also comes to 
well shaded lawns. He announces his presence by a 
ringing shout, a sort of " Hurrah," so characteristic 
that after a first hearing one is not likely to mistake 
it for any other bird-call, but will say with confidence, 
'There's a Great Crest!" He is a handsome, dis- 
tinguished-looking bird as he stands erect on his 
perch, turning his crested head this way and that, 
watching for winged insects to come within his range. 
The pearl-gray and lemon-yellow of his waistcoat are 
a particularly esthetic combination. 

This Flycatcher's nest is in a hole, not like a Wood- 
pecker's, but in a natural cavity, and most often in a 
hollow limb. The nest is interesting from the bird's 
habit of using cast-off snake skin in its construction, 
presumably with the intention of frightening away 
intruders. The eggs, 4 to 6, are creamy-white or buff, 
streaked lengthwise with fine lines as if done with a 
pen. These Flycatchers may generally be seen — or 
heard — in the Zoological Park, and in the Soldiers' 
Home woods. 



ii 4 



PHCEBE 




W*' 



PHCEBE. 



Phoebe : Sayomis phoebe. 

Length 7 inches. 

Upper parts olive-brown; crown, wings and tail darker. 

Under parts white, slightly washed with yellowish; a touch 
of white on outer tail-feathers. 

Resident from March 5 to October; winters from North 
Carolina to Cuba and Mexico. 

One of the earliest bird-notes country people hear 
in spring is this Flycatcher's pleasant call of phoebe. 
He is often called Pewee, but incorrectly, -as the letter 
name belongs strictly to his relative the Wood Pewee. 
The two birds are much alike, but the Pewee has 
white w 7 ing-bars. Mr. Ridgway says an - easy and 
infallible means of distinguishing between them is the 



WOOD PEWEE 115 

Phoebe's habit of swinging his tail when perching; 
this the Pewee never does. 

Phcebes build about porches, and in barns and 
sheds, generally on a beam; also about bridges, and 
sometimes under a shelving bank or rock as their 
ancestors did when there was no other shelter. The 
nest is of mud, lined with fine grasses and horse hair, 
and is usually covered outside with bits of feathery 
moss which must conceal it admirably when built on 
mossy rocks. The eggs, 4 to 6, are pure white, gen- 
erally unmarked. 

No birds are more useful than Phoebes in destroy- 
ing tormenting insects, and those that injure fruit, 
flowers and vegetables, and we are fortunate if a pair 
settle themselves on our premises, for they can be 
depended upon to return year after year. 

Wood Pewee: Contopus virens. 

Length 6y 2 inches. 

Upper parts dark olive. 

Under parts brown, washed with gray on sides of the 
throat and breast. 

Two more or less distinct white wing-bars. 

Resident (common) from May 1 to October 16; winters 
in Central America. 

The woodland song that one is most sure of hearing 
any time of day the summer through is the tender 
adagio strain of the Wood Pewee. Pe-a-wee, pe wee, 
he dreamily sings, and we feel at once something of 
the peace and restfulness of the woods. 

The shallow nest is built high, generally in large 
trees, and is covered with lichens like the Humming- 
bird's. It so perfectly resembles a knot of the branch 
on which it rests that unless you see the bird go on 
or off you will not suspect it of being anything else. 



n 6 ACADIAN FL YCA TCHER 

The eggs, 3 to 4, are white with a wreath of dark 
spots at the larger end. A Pewe^' c nest with + u ~ 
mother-bird on may be seen at the 

.Acadian Flycatcher; -Green-crestec 
Empidonax virescens. 

Length nearly 6 inches. 

Upper parts grayish-green, wings and tail darker; two 
conspicuous white wing-bars. 

Under parts white, washed with yellowish. 

Resident (common) from May 5 to September 15; win- 
ters in Central America. 

The Acadian, although common, is perhaps not so 
well known as the other Flycatchers, for he keeps 
to the shady, secluded corners of our woods and must 
be looked for. His haunts are in woods near water, 
generally by small streams, ponds and springs, and 
he is likely to be seen in the lower branches of young 
trees, especially where these grow in Nature's own 
wild, crowded fashion. 

The call-note of the Acadian is peculiar, and is 
given as wick-up and hick-up, from w r hich he gets a 
nickname of " Hick-up Bird." The nest is shallow 
and thin, woven of fine rootlets, grass and dry blos- 
soms, and the rim is attached to a forked twig near 
the end of a branch, like the Vireo nests. Almost 
always some loose bit of stuff is left hanging from the 
center. 

The eggs, 4, are creamy-white, spotted at the larger 
end with cinnamon-brown. 



CHIMNE Y SWIFT 1 1 7 

Chimney Swift; Chimney Swallow: Choctura pcla- 
gica. 

Length about 5*4 inches. 
General color, sooty; throat whitish. 

Wiags long and slender; tail short and tipped with spines. 
Resident (abundant) from April 15 to October 16; winters 
in Central America. 

" Few sights in the bird world are more familiar 
than the bow-and-ar row-like forms of there rapidly 
riving birds, silhouetted against the sky." (Chap- 
man.) It is interesting to watch a flock at dusk cir- 
cling about a big chimney, into which, with a twit- 
tering good-night to the darkening world, they drop 
one by one, until the last has disappeared. 

There are many chimneys in and about the city 
which are the summer homes of Swifts, and out in the 
country there are but few old ones unoccupied by 
them. Swifts are peculiar in never perching as other 
birds do, but they hang themselves up against the 
brick or stone wall of a chimney by catching their 
claws into a crevice and using the short, stiff tail as 
a prop. 

The nest is a basket of twigs fastened together and 
against the wall with glutinous saliva. They gather 
the material for it on the wing, breaking off dead twigs 
with beak or feet. The eggs, 4 to 6, are pure white, 
as in the hidden home no protective markings are 
needed. 

A Swift's nest jn a section of old chimney may be 
seen in the Children's Room at the Smithsonian. 



1 1 8 RUB V- THR OA TED HUMMINGBIRD 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Trochilus colubris. 

Length 2>V 2 inches. 

Upper parts shining green; throat metallic 
Female, without red throat. 
Resident (common) from April 25 to Sep 
from southern Florida to Central America. 

"Was it a gem half bird? 
Or was it a bird half gem? " 

The poet's questions seem to suggest this exquisite 
little creature better than prosy facts as to color and 
size; and indeed, if we see it only when it comes flash- 
ing about our honeysuckle and weigelia bushes — 
poising an instant on unseen w r ings before each dainty 
blossom — w r e can scarcely believe that it has the same 
matter-of-fact existence as other birds. But that 
tiny body holds as many joys, hopes and fears as any 
of its larger brothers, and it holds also an intense 
devotion to the loveliest and smallest nest in Birdland. 

It is often the bird's anxiety about her nest that 
enables you to find it. Walking through the woods 
you w T ill perhaps be startled by a loud humming noise 
circling your head, and then you may see a Humming- 
bird light, uttering a sharp little chip which is her only 
speech. By this you will know that the nest is near 3 
and you need only look over the rather high, slender 
branches in the vicinity to discover it. It is possibly 
an inch and a half in diameter and saddled to a limb 
about the same thickness. It is composed of plant 
down, most skillfully felted together, and the outside 
is so beautifully stuccoed with lichens that 'it looks 
exactly like a knot on the limb; inside it is scarcely 
larger than a thimble, and contains two pearly eggs 
unmarred by spot or line. 

The beautiful Sphinx moth, which feeds from 



WHIP-PO OR- WILL 1 1 9 

flower cups towards evening is sometimes mistaken 
mmingbird, but close observation will show 
fc in feet and bill. 

/ill: Antrostomus vociferus. 

inches. 
. over with black, brown and white; a conspku- 
and across the upper breast. 

Three outer tail-feathers white, shown distinctly in flight. 

Female has buff instead of white band and patches. 

Resident from April 20 to October; winters from Florida 
southward. 

Whip-poor-wills live in dense, wild woods, conse- 
quently are not heard near the city, but at Takoma 
Park and farther out they are not uncommon. As they 
fly only at night they are seldom seen, but in passing 
through a bit of thick woods in daytime you may 
sometimes start one up, when he will fly low for a 
short distance and settle lengthwise on a limb or log. 
His flight is so noiseless that it seems weird in the 
deeply shaded woods. He feeds entirely on insects, 
chiefly moths, and can engulf the largest in his great 
mouth, aided by the long stiff bristles which surround 
it. No nest is built, the two speckled eggs being- 
laid on the bare ground, or on dry leaves. 

If near the Whip-poor-will when he is singing, you 
may hear the peculiar double chuck he gives between 
calls, and can imagine that he says to himself, " I 
won't/' after each threat to whip poor Will. One 
little boy, whose summer home is near woods where 
he always hears the Whip-poor-will at twilight, calls 
him the bedtime bird, and thinks he says " go to sleep, 
go to sleep." 



120 NIGHTHAWK 

Nighthawk; Bull Bat: ChordeUes virginianus. 

Length 10 inches. 

Male, upper parts mottled, black, brown, \ 
white. 

Under parts lighter, banded across w 
brown. 

A broad triangular band of whii^ 01 the t 
white spot on the wings, and a band of white a 

Female, without white on throat and tail. 

Resident (not uncommon) from April 25 to October; win- 
ters in South America. 

The Nighthawk is seen in the late afternoon and 
early evening frying high in the air in erratic bat-like 
fashion in pursuit of his " daily bread." As he flies 
he utters at intervals a loud squeak, and in breeding 
season sometimes drops suddenly toward the earth 
with a whirring noise which has been likened to that 
made by the swift turning of a spinning-wheel. This 
is produced by the air rushing through the stiffened 
wings and tail, and can be heard at some distance. 
The white spots on the long narrow wings look round 
from below, and are spoken of as "a hole in the wing." 

Nighthawks, when resting, perch lengthwise on 
limb or log like the Whip-poor-will, and are invisible 
to careless observers. They build no nest, and the 
two thickly speckled eggs are laid on the ground or 
on a rock where they seem to be part of their sur- 
roundings and only very sharp eyes will discover 
them. If found and the old birds know it, they will 
at once remove them to another place, carrying them 
in their capacious mouths. Warren says : " I have 
known the Nighthawk to move its eggs a distance 
of over two hundred yards within an hour after I had 
discovered them." 

These birds sometimes breed in the city, laying 
their eggs on the roofs of houses. 



WOODPECKERS. 

i a large powerful bill, which is 

j d as a chisel to excavate holes in 

insects that burrow in the wood. 

hid barbed and can be thrust far 

out of the mouth to extract such insects as the bill 

cannot reach. These birds do an immense amount 

of good in preserving our forests and orchards from 

the ravages of wood-borers, ants, and other insects 

injurious to wood. 

Instead of having three toes in front and one be- 
hind, as most birds do, Woodpeckers have two stout 
toes behind and two in front which enable them to 
climb tree-trunks easily, and when they stop to dig 
or rest they are propped by the hind toes, and by 
their stiff, pointed tail-feathers. They are said to 
often sleep in this position. 

Woodpeckers do not sing, but with the bill drum 
their love-song on a dead limb or other resonant sur- 
face. Their hammering power is tremendous, as was 
realized by the inmates of a slab-covered lodge which 
Red-heads sometimes visited. One could imagine the 
consternation among the denizens of a tree-trunk 
when a Woodpecker knocks for admittance. He is 
often seen to tap and then turn his head to listen as 
if locating his prey, which he is said to do unerringly. 

Woodpeckers' holes are small at the surface but 
roomy inside, and are from six to twenty-four inches 
deep. Their eggs are always pure white without 
markings. 



122 HAIRY WOODPECKER 

Downy Woodpecker: Dryobatcs pubescens. 

Length nearly 7 inches. 

Upper parts black with a white stripe down the middle 
of the back, and in the male, a scarlet band aci-vss the back 
of the neck. 

Wings and tail black, thickly spotted w uii u a; uctter 
tail-feathers white, barred with black. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

The Downy is our smallest and commonest Wood- 
pecker, and is likely to be seen wherever there ar. 
old trees, even about those of our lawns and gardens. 
In spring he is a persistent drummer, and beats his 
rolling tattoo on a dead limb or a tin roof with equal 
energy and satisfaction to himself. He frequently 
calls out peek, peek, and gives besides a harsh trill 
which he probably intends for a song. When nesting 
begins he is much more sedate and we hear only a 
quiet tap, tap, tapping on the trees as he goes about 
in search of food. He is a sociable fellow, and in 
autumn often joins the cheery group of Chickadees, 
Tufted Tits, and Nuthatches which roam our woods 
through the winter. Mr. Chapman asks : " Who can 
estimate the enormous numbers of insects' eggs and 
larvae which these patient explorers of twig and trunk 
destroy? " 

Hairy Woodpecker: Dryobates villosas. 

The Hairy Woodpecker is like the Downy except 
that the outer tail-feathers are not barred with black, 
and he is much larger, being nearly ten inches long. 
He seldom nests here, but is not uncommon in spring 
and autumn and is sometimes found in winter. 



RED-HE* / DED WOOD PEL % KER 



123 




RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 

Red-headed Woodpecker: Melanerpes erythrocephalus. 

Length 9J/2 inches. 

Head, neck and upper breast crimson-red. 
Upper back, wings and tail bluish-black. 
Lower back, under parts, and a broad stripe across the 
wings, white. 

Young, gray where adults are red. 

An uncommon summer and rare winter resident. 

In " Birds in the Bush/' Bradford Torrey writes of 
the Red-headed Woodpecker: "This showy bird has 



124 RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 

for a good many years been ver)\rare in Massachu- 
setts; and therefore when, during the freshness of my 
ornithological researches, I went to Washington for a 
month's visit, it was one of the things whiJi I had 
especially in mind, to make his acquaintance. hcS I 
looked for him without success till, at the end of a 
fortnight, I made a pilgrimage to Mount Vernon. 
Here, after visiting the grave and going over the 
house, as every visitor does, I sauntered about the 
grounds, thinking of the great man who used to do 
the same so many years before, but all the while keep- 
ing my eyes open for the present feathered inhabi- 
tants of the sacred spot. Soon a bird darted by me 
and struck against the trunk of an adjacent tree, and 
glancing up quickly I beheld my much-sought Red- 
headed Woodpecker. How appropriately patriotic 
he looked at the home of Washington, wearing the 
national colors, red, white and blue! After this he 
became abundant about the capital, so that I saw him 
often and took much pleasure in his frolicsome ways." 

The Red-heads are found in various open oak 
woods north of the city, at Mount Pleasant, about 
Freedmen's Hospital, in Glenwood Cemetery, and 
often on the heights above Florida Avenue; but they 
are wandering, irregular birds and their presence in 
any particular locality cannot be depended upon. Out 
in the country they are often noticed about old 
orchards. 

In spring they are the noisiest of drummers and 
also have a loud, rattling call which proclaims their 
presence, but in nesting time they are very quiet. 

The hole of the Red-head is often in a half-dead 
tree, rather high up, and the eggs, 4 to 6, are laid on 
the fine chips left by the bird carpenters. 



RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 1 25 

Pileated Woodpecker ; Cock-of-the- Woods : Ccoph- 
tileatus. 

ies. 

dull black. 
• ted crest scarlet; male with a scarlet line 
back to neck. 
Some yellowisn-white marks about the head and on the 
wings, the latter shown conspicuously in flight. 
A rare permanent resident. 

The Pileated is much the largest of our Wood- 
peckers., and is so rare here that the sight of him is 
an event even in an ornithologist's calendar. It is 
said he was once common all over this country, but 
he is by nature wild and wary, keeping to heavy 
timber, and with the advance of civilization has with- 
drawn to the most secluded localities, until now but 
few places can boast his presence. He is still occa- 
sionally seen near Falls Church. 

Look for him in the tops of the largest trees, and 
listen for the hammering of a giant, so loud that the 
tapping of an ordinary Woodpecker seems but an 
echo in comparison. The hole of the Pileated will 
be from 30 to 80 feet above the ground. 

Red-bellied Woodpecker: Melanerpes carolinus. 

Length 10 inches. 

Top of head and back of neck light scarlet; back, wings 
and tail regularly barred with black and white. 

Under parts dull white, the belly more or less tinged with 
red. 

Female with top of head ashy-gray. 

A rare permanent resident. 

The Red-bellied is a southern bird, and this is 
about the northern limit of his range. Perhaps the 
only place in the District where he may be looked for 



126 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 

with confidence is in a piece of thick/ wet woods 
where the Fourteenth Street road crosses Piney 
Branch; but he is said to be common near Laurel, 
Maryland. He cannot be mistaken for any other 
Woodpecker, as he is the only one we have here that 
is barred crosswise, evenly and distinctly. The red on 
the belly from which he gets his name is not con- 
spicuous. He gives a loud chuck as he lights against 
a tree-trunk, which he ascends in a characteristic 
jerky fashion. His hole is about twenty feet from the 
ground. 



FLICKER 



127 




^!t7l 



FLICKER. 



Flicker; Yellowhammer : Colaptes aurahis. 

Length 12 inches. 

Upper parts yellowish-brown barred with black, a scarlet 
band across the back of the neck. 

Under parts brownish-white, spotted with black, a broad 
black crescent across the breast. 

Lining of wings and tail golden yellow. Rump white, 
shown conspicuously in flight. 

A common summer and rare winter resident. 

The Flicker is strikingly handsome and easy to 
identify. If he faces you he will be known by the 
black crescent across his spotted breast, and when he 



128 KING FISHER 

flies before you the large white spot on his lower 
back will name him. He is a vigorous, dashing bird, 
and he and his comrades make a jolly racket in the 
woods with their drumming, hammering and loud 
cries. His song, zvicka-wicka-zmcka, Audubon cal 1 
" a prolonged, jovial laugh/' 

Unlike other Woodpeckers, the Flicker spends 
much time on the ground, where he hunts ants — his 
favorite food. Thrusting his long, barbed, sticky 
tongue into an ant-hill, he draws out numbers at a 
time; three thousand were found in one Flicker 
stomach. 

The Flicker's hole is in a dead or half-dead tree, 
or in an old stump, and is at varying heights above 
the ground — " two and a half to sixty feet, mostly 
between ten and twenty feet." The eggs are pure 
white, and have a lustre as if enameled. The usual 
number is six or seven, but if the nest is robbed, the 
bird keeps on laying, and there is a record of thirty- 
seven eggs having been taken from one nest. 

Belted Kingfisher: Ceryle alcyon. 

Length 13 inches. 

Upper parts and high crest bluish-gray; a white spot be- 
fore the eye. 

Under parts white, a bluish band across the breast. 
Female, band and sides brown instead of blue. 
Resident (common) all the year. 

The Kingfisher is a big bird, considerably larger 
than the Robin, with a conspicuous crest and a very 
long, heavy bill. He is found along streams wher- 
ever there are good fishing places, and is frequently 
seen from Rock Creek bridge in the Zoological Park. 
He stations himself on a branch overhanging the 



KINGFISHER 1 29 

water and watches until a fish passes below, when 
down he plunges after him, often going entirely under, 
but instantly emerging with the fish in his bill. Fly- 
ing to a perch near by he shakes himself, beats the 
fish against a branch until it is dead, then swallows it 
whole. 

Each pair of Kingfishers is said to have its own 
fishing grounds and not to trespass on a neighbor's 
preserves. They always fish up stream and when 
they come to the end of their route make a wide 
detour back to the starting place, sweeping in with 
the loud, rattling cry which is their characteristic call. 

The nest is in a hole in a high bank of the stream 
and is at the end of a long burrow, five or six feet 
from the entrance. A half dozen pure white eggs are 
laid. 



130 



YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO 




YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo: Coccyzus americanus. 

Length 12 inches; tail half the length. 

Upper parts brownish-gray with a greenish gloss; wings 
black, washed with reddish-brown; outer tail-feathers black 
with distinct white patches. Bill yellow at base and on lower 
mandible. 

Under parts white. 

Resident (common) from May 2 to October 15; winters 
in Central and South America. 



We have two Cuckoos, the Yellow-billed and the 
Black-billed, much alike except for the color of the 
bill. The Yellow-billed is the common species, the 
other being quite rare. Although a large bird and 
rather conspicuous from his long tail with its white 
"thumb-marks," he keeps so closely in the densest 
trees and is so noiseless in his movements that we 
seldom notice him. His call, however, is not un- 



BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO 131 

familiar, and is written k-kuk, k-kuk, k-kuk. As it is 
supposed to be a sign of rain, he is commonly called 
" Rain-crow." 

A Cuckoo was heard in Iowa Circle recently, but 
that was unusual, for he is a shy bird and seldom 
ventures into the city, probably only when the trees 
are full of caterpillars. His favorite food is tent 
caterpillars, the sort that make their ugly nests in 
our trees and ruin the foliage, and he is therefore 
extremely useful. Mr. Chapman tells of shooting a 
Cuckoo at six o'clock in the morning which had 
forty-three of these caterpillars in his stomach. 

" Family cares rest lightly on the Cuckoo. The 
nest of both species is a ram-shackle affair — a mere 
bundle of twigs and sticks without a rim to keep the 
eggs from rolling from the bush, where they rest, to 
the ground. The over-worked mother-bird often 
lays an egg while brooding over its nearly natched 
companion, and the two or three half-grown fledg- 
lings already in the nest may roll the large greenish 
eggs out upon the ground, while both parents are off 
hunting for food to quiet their noisy clamorings." 
(Neltje Blanchan.) In this part of the country the 
Cuckoo more often nests in trees than in bushes. 

Black-billed Cuckoo: Coccyzus erythrophthalmus. 

The Black-billed Cuckoo is much like the Yellow- 
billed, but besides the different bill his wings have no 
brown on them, and his tail-feathers are but slightly 
tipped with white. The voice of the Black-billed is 
softer than that of the common Cuckoo and his notes 
are more connected. The nest and eggs are much 
the same. Resident (rare) from May 2 to October 15. 



OWLS. 

Owls are nocturnal birds of prey, and at twilight 
take up the work of the day-feeding Hawks. While 
they do great good in ridding the earth of mischiev- 
ous rodents, it must be said that they are destructive 
to woodland birds and other harmless creatures. 

The plumage of Owls is so soft and downy that it 
offers but slight resistance to the air and their flight 
is practically noiseless. They catch their prey in their 
talons and small victims are swallowed whole, the 
indigestible portions — bones, hair or feathers — being 
afterwards ejected from the mouth in the form of pel- 
lets. Numbers of these pellets will be found about 
the roosting places of Owls. 

Owls' eyes are in front instead of at the sides, as 
are those of other birds, and they are fixed so that 
the birds cannot roll them, but must always move the 
head to look about; curiously enough, they have the 
power of turning the head entirely around from front 
to back. In the Owl family, as in that of Hawks, the 
females are larger than the males. 

Several of our Owls may be seen in .cages at the 
Zoo. 

American Barn Owl; Monkey-faced Owl: Strix 
pratincola. 

Length 18 inches. 

Upper parts mixed gray and yellow, speckled with white 
and black. 

Under parts varying from white to bright tawny, dotted 
with small round black spots. 

Face triangular in shape. Eyes small and black. 

Resident (not rare) all the year. 

While most Owls inhabit woods, the Barn Owl lives 
in barns, church-belfries and similar places. In the 



LONG-EARED OWL 133 

towers of the Smithsonian, and also in the Jail towers, 
he makes his home and rears his young.* His food is 
largely rats and mice, sometimes birds, all of which, if 
small enough, he swallows whole, as is the custom of 
Owls. 

The nest is composed of any convenient rubbish, 
together with a few feathers. The eggs, 5 to 9, are 
white, and somewhat pointed. 

American Long-eared Owl: Asio wilsonianus. 

Length 15 inches. 

Upper parts mottled, gray, tawny and blackish. 
Under parts grayish-white indistinctly barred with brown. 
black and tawny. 

Face bright burl, bordered narrowly with black. 
Long, conspicuous ear-tufts. Eyes yellow. 
Resident (common) all the year. 

" The Long-eared Owl is one of our most beneficial 
species, destroying vast numbers of injurious rodents 
and seldom touching insectivorous birds." (Fisher.) 
This Owl never hunts during the day, but keeps 
closely in thick evergreen woods or swampy thickets. 
It seldom builds a new nest, but remodels an old one 
of a Crow or Hawk. Five eggs are usually laid. 

* The famous Owl colony in the Smithsonian towers has 
been broken up (1902). 



•34 



BARRED OWL 







BARRED OWL (Syrnium nebulosum). 

Barred Owl; Hoot Owl: Syrnium nebulosum. 

Length 20 inches. 

No ear-tufts. Eyes large and black. General color dark 
brown and buffy-white, barred crosswise all over except on 
the belly, which is striped. 

Resident (not uncommon) all the year. 

This is the Hoot Owl, whose nocturnal cry is so 
startling to the unaccustomed ear. " Who, who, who 



SCREECH OWL 1 35 

pesterin' we all?" Uncle Remus gives it, and it is 
heard at a long distance. 

This large Owl must be a terror to the smaller 
inhabitants of the woods, for it eats rabbits, squirrels, 
shrews and moles, as well as mice. It sometimes 
takes poultry, but not often, and is considered on the 
whole beneficial. It spends the day sleeping in thick, 
dark woods, rarely hunting except at twilight. 

The Hoot Owl nests in a hollow tree and occupies 
the same place year after year. Only two or three 
eggs are usually laid; these are more than two inches 
long. 

Screech Owl : Mcgascops asio. 

Length 7 to 10 inches. 

Our only small Owl with conspicuous ear-tufts. 
Upper parts reddish-brown or sometimes gray. 
Under parts paler, mottled and streaked with black. 
Resident (common) all the year. 

Screech Owls are very common and so useful that 
Dr. Fisher says " Whoever destroys them through 
ignorance or prejudice should be severely con- 
demned." The wailing cry of the Screech Owl is an 
uncanny sound at night, and makes the listener glad 
of human companionship. 

These Owls nest rather low in hollow trees. Old 
orchards are favorite places, and they keep the same 
home for years. They hunt in the daytime as well as 
at night. 

The plumage of the Screech Owl is sometimes red- 
dish-brown and sometimes gray, " two totally distinct 
phases, having no relation to sex, age or season. " 



1 36 GREA T HORNED O WL 



Great Horned Owl: Bubo virginianus. 

Length about 2 feet. 

Large, conspicuous ear-tufts. Eyes large and yellow. 
Upper parts mottled, black, brown, and gray; wings and 
tail barred; white band on the throat. 
Under parts buff, barred with black. 
Resident (rare) all the year. 



The Great Horned Owl is fortunately rare in this 
vicinity. Dr. Fisher calls him " a tiger among birds," 
and says that, besides eating all kinds of poultry, 
birds and rabbits, he takes Hawks, Crows and even 
other Owls. His loud, deep notes are all on one tone, 
who, zvho, zvho, and at a distance are said to resemble 
the barking of a dog. 

These Owls do not often build, but fix up an old 
nest of Crow, Hawk or Squirrel, more often in ever- 
greens than in deciduous trees, and usually near the 
top. The eggs, two in number, are laid early in Feb- 
ruary. 



HAWKS. 

The first thing to learn about these birds is that 
there are good Hawks and bad Hawks. We have 
six species resident in this vicinity, only two of which 
are harmful; the others are among the farmers' best 
friends. The shooting of a good Hawk always results 
in a distinct loss to the farmer of such products as are 
destroyed by field mice, rats and rabbits. In some 
agricultural districts, where there has been ignorant 
and indiscriminate shooting of all Hawks, there has 
frequently followed a field-mouse plague, which has 
done incalculable damage. 

It is not so difficult as one might suppose to dis- 
tinguish between injurious Hawks and those that are 
beneficial. The two harmful species, Cooper's and 
the Sharp-shinned, have long tails and slender bodies; 
while the good Hawks, — the Red-shouldered, Red- 
tailed, Broad-winged and Sparrow Hawk— are rather 
stocky, with short tails. The different habits of the 
two kinds are even more distinguishing than their 
appearance. The Poultry Hawk conceals himself in 
a clump of evergreens or dense shrubbery near farm 
buildings, from which he darts out among the poul- 
try, seizes a chicken and is off, perhaps without being 
seen or heard. 

Chicken Hawks seldom soar in the open as do the 
mouse-hunting Hawks. Useful species often suffer 
for the sins of the chicken thieves, for if a farmer 
misses poultry and observes a Hawk soaring over his 
meadows, he at once concludes that he sees the mis- 
creant and gets his gun, when the real culprit is prob- 
ably concealed in the nearest thicket, digesting his 
last meal. 



138 SHARF-SHINNED HAWK 

When cither a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned Hawk 
finds a poultry yard easy of access he generally con- 
tinues his visits until all the chickens are gone or he 
is killed. On one farm sixty chickens were taken and 
a large number of useful Hawks were unfortunately 
shot before the thief — a Cooper's — was discovered. 

Notice the size of the different Hawks. Cooper's 
is sixteen inches long, the same as the Broad-winged, 
and the Sharp-shinned is eleven inches, about the 
same as the useful little Sparrow Hawk. The other 
good species, the Red-tailed and Red-shouldered, are 
larger, the former being a foot and a half and the 
latter two feet long. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk: Accipitcr vclox. 

Length 1 [ inches. 

Upper parts slaty-gray, with a few white spots; tail lighter, 
with dark band and tipped with whitish. 

Under parts white, barred with light brown, the throat 
with dark streaks. The young are dark brown and rusty 
above, and streaked instead of barred beneath. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

The food of the Sharp-shinned consists almost en- 
tirely of young poultry and small birds, and Dr. A. K. 
Fisher of the Biological Survey, the authority on 
Hawks and Owls, says there is little in its favor ex- 
cept its fondness for the English Sparrow, and that 
it " is gradually learning that there is a never-failing 
supply of food for it in the larger towns and cities." 
He has seen it chasing Sparrows in the Washington 
parks. 

The Shaip-shinned nests later than other Haw 7 ks 
and usually builds in a thick evergreen tree about 
tw r enty feet from the ground. The eggs, 4 to 5, are 
heavily spotted and blotched. 



COOPER'S HAWK 



1 39 




COOPER'S HAWK (Accipiter cooperii). 



1 40 CO OPER S HA WK 

Cooper's Hawk: Accipiter cooperii. . * 

This little Hawk is like the Sharp-shinned, but larger, 
being 16 inches long. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

" Chicken Hawk " is a common and fitting name 
for Cooper's. He takes larger poultry than the 
Sharp-shinned and is especially fond of tame pigeons, 
as well as all kinds of wild birds. Meadowlarks, 
Robins and Flickers are mentioned as frequent 
victims. He also eats English Sparrows. 

The nest is usually in the top of a tree, either ever- 
green or deciduous, and looks like a Crow's nest. 
The eggs, 4 to 5, are bluish-white, sometimes lightly 
spotted with brown. 



RED- TAILED HA WK 



141 



*<*$fp\. 





RED-TAILED HAWK (Buteo borealis). 



142 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK 

Red-tailed Hawk: Butco borcalis. 

Length about 2 feet. 

Upper parts very dark brown marked with reddish-brown 
and whitish; tail in adults rusty red with black band near 
the end, and white tip. 

Under parts white tinged with burry; belly streaked with 
brown. 

Common in winter, rare in summer. 

The Red-tailed is the Hawk most frequently seen 
in winter circling high over open ground. He eats 
mice, rats and other small mammals. Dr. Fisher 
says that on the new land of the Potomac flats a rank 
vegetation has grown up which gives shelter and sus- 
tenance to hordes of mice, and " in winter and early 
spring it is not uncommon to see ten or fifteen Red- 
tailed Hawks in different parts of this flat attracted 
hither by the abundance of their natural food." In 
migration he has seen a flock of sixty-five Red-tails 
passing southward in large sweeping circles. He also 
savs that when taken young this Hawk soon becomes 
reconciled to captivity and makes a gentle and inter- 
esting pet. The nest is generally in a high tree from 
forty to seventy feet up. The eggs, 2 to 4, are dull 
white lightly marked with brown. 

Red-shouldered Hawk: Butco lineatus. 

Length about 18 inches. 

Upper parts dark brown with a reddish cast; shoulders 
rusty red; tail black, with white bars and a white tip. 
Under parts reddish-brown barred with white. 
Resident (common) all the year. 

The Red-shouldered Hawk receives only praise from 
those who know its habits. Sixty-five per cent of 
its food is mice, and the rest various small mammals, 
frogs, fish and insects. Dr. Fisher says that in all 



BROAD-WINGED HAWK 143 

his experience he has never seen it attack a fowl 
nor has he found the remains of one in the stomachs 
examined. He writes: "This Hawk, like most other 
birds of prey, makes a very interesting pet, and on 
account of its varied food is easy to keep. Appar- 
ently it is less shy than the Red-tail, nevertheless under 
ordinary circumstances it will not allow a man on 
foot to approach within gunshot. Like other Haw T ks, 
it shows no fear for one on horse-back or in a wagon, 
and in this way can be easily approached. Bottom 
lands grown up with large deciduous trees, or the 
neighboring hill-sides, are the favorite nesting-sites of 
this bird. The nest is placed in one of the large 
trees, forty to eighty feet from the ground, and usually 
in the fork where the main branches diverge from the 
trunk. A pair will inhabit the same locality for years 
and often occupy a nest for several seasons." 

Broad-winged Hawk: Butco platypterus. 

Length 16 inches. 

Upper parts dark brown, darker on the back; tail blackish 
with broad bands of gray or brownish-white. 

Under parts reddish-brown, broken by white transverse 
spotting. 

The food of this Hawk consists principally of in- 
sects, small mammals, reptiles and batrachians, and 
occasionally of young or disabled birds. 

" During the summer the Broad-winged Hawk 
often may be seen sitting for hours on the dead top 
of some high tree. At other times it is found on the 
smaller trees in the deep woods, along streams, or on 
the ground, where its food is more often procured. 
Although sluggish and unusually heavy in its flight, 
it is capable of rapid motion and sometimes soars high 



144 SPARROW HA WK 

in the air. One of its notes resembles quite closely 
that of the Wood Pewee." (Fisher.) 

The Broad-winged nests late for a Hawk, generally 
about the middle of May. The nest is like that of the 
Crow, but larger, and two or three eggs are laid. 
The male is said to assist in incubating the eggs as 
well as in bringing up the young. 

Sparrow Hawk: Falco sparverius. 

Length 10 inches. 

Male, upper parts bright reddish-brown generally barred 
with black, the tail bordered with a broad black band and 
tipped with white; forehead gray, irregular black stripes 
on the side of the head; wings grayish-blue with black 
markings. Under parts generally buffy or pale reddish- 
brown, with or without black markings. 

Female, under parts streaked with brown. The wings are 
brown barred with dusky, and the tail is narrowly barred with 
dusky. 

Common in winter, rare in summer. 

The handsome Sparrow Hawk is the smallest of his 
family, being about the size of a Robin. His hooked 
bill and high shoulders proclaim him a Hawk, and the 
gray forehead and distinct black markings on the side 
of the head identify him. He is supposed to eat small 
birds, hence his name, but rarely have any been found 
in the great number of stomachs examined at the 
Biological Survey, except in winter, and then only 
when other food could not be obtained. He is a great 
destroyer of meadow-mice and injurious insects, 
especially grasshoppers and crickets, so he should be 
protected. 

The nest, unlike that of other Hawks, is in a hole 
in a tree, either in a natural cavity or an old Wood- 
pecker's hole. 



SPARROW HA WK 



H5 



The eggs, 5 to 7, are finely and evenly marked. 
Sparrow Hawks are more common here in winter 
than in summer. They have been suspected of nest- 
ing in the Smithsonian towers. 




SPARROW HAWK (Falco sparvehius). 



10 



146 FISH HAWK 

Marsh Hawk; Harrier: Circus Imdsonius. 

Length 19 inches. 

Male, general color ashy-gray; under parts white, finely 
marked with rusty; rump white in both sexes, shown con- 
spicuously in flight. 

Female, general color rusty brown. 

July to April. Common. 

The Marsh Hawk will be seen beating low over 
marshes or meadows in search of mice and insects. 
It is not known to breed in this vicinity, but is so 
common the greater part of the year that it is thought 
best to distinguish it as a good Hawk. Doctor Fisher 
writes: " Its presence and increase should be en- 
couraged in every way possible, not only by protect- 
ing it by law. but by disseminating a knowledge of the 
benefits it confers. It is probably the most active and 
determined foe of meadow mice and ground squirrels, 
destroying greater numbers of these pests than any 
other species, and this fact alone should entitle it to 
protection, even if it destroyed no other injurious 
animals." 

The nest is on the ground in marshes. Eggs, 4 to 
6, are dull white, unmarked. 

Fish Hawk; American Osprey: Pandion haliaetus 
carolinensis. 

Length about 2 feet. 

Upper parts dark brown; tail banded. 

Head and under parts white, sometimes spotted. 

Resident (uncommon) from March 25 to October. 

" We do not know of any nests within the District, 
but have seen them lower down the river; the species 
properly belong to the category of summer residents. 
It is often seen sailing over the Potomac and Ana- 



BALD EAGLE 147 

costia Rivers, or perched upon the branches of dead 
trees overhanging their banks. Its migrations corre- 
spond to some extent with those of the fish upon 
which it feeds, and it consequently appears in spring- 
about the time the fishing season begins." (Avifauna 
Columbiana.) 

The note of the Fish Hawk is said to be a high, 
rapidly repeated, plaintive whistle. 

Bald Eagle: Haliceetus leucocephalus. 

Length about 3 feet. 

Adults, head, neck and tail white; rest of the plumage 
dark brown. Bill and feet yellow. 

The plumage of the first-year birds is a uniform dark 
brown, almost black, with no white perceptible, while that 
of the second-year birds is a lighter color and begins to 
show white on the head and tail. 

Resident (not common) all the year. 

Our national bird very appropriately makes his 
home at Mount Vernon, where one pair have lived 
for many years. He is also found at Great Falls, and 
in both localities may be seen soaring high over the 
Potomac with characteristic dignity and grace. He 
lives almost entirely on fish, and it is said, often 
makes the Fish Hawk give up his prey. 

The nest is generally in the top of a tall tree and is 
very large — a platform of sticks, often six feet across 
and three or four feet in depth; it is lined with coarse 
marsh grass. Two large white eggs are laid. 



148 MOURNING DOVE 

Buzzard; Turkey Vulture: Cathartes aura. 

Length 2 1 /? feet. 

Plumage, blackish edged with gray. 

Head and neck without feathers, the skin bright red; bill 
white. Young with head and bill blackish. 
Resident (abundant) all the year. 

Buzzards are valuable scavengers, and by their 
prompt disposition of all carrion, keep the woods and 
fields clean. Their scientific name, cathartes, means 
" purifier." They are protected by law, a fine being 
imposed for killing one. 

Numbers of these great Vultures will sometimes be 
seen perched on a fence in the vicinity of their latest 
meal, grotesque and unattractive; but when they 
mount into the air, and far above the earth circle 
about for hours at a time with the utmost ease and 
grace, they command our admiration. Their sight 
and sense of smell are wonderfully acute, and they 
patrol a large territory. 

Buzzards * do not build nests, but the eggs are laid 
on the ground, often under a pile of rails or brush, or 
in a hollow stump. When the nest is disturbed, the 
old bird makes a blowing sound like escaping steam. 
Two large eggs are laid, much blotched and speckled. 



Mourning Dove; Turtle Dove: Zcnaidura macroura. 

Length 12 inches. 

General color dark fawn; sides of the neck iridescent; 
a dark spot on the side of the head. 
Tail bordered with black and tipped with white. 
Under parts pinkish. 
Resident all the year, common in summer. 

The mournful, monotonous coo-ah, coo-ah, coo of the 
Turtle Dove is not the most cheerful of rural sounds, 



BOB-WHITE 149 

but he is such a dainty, pretty creature that we are 
always glad to have one come whirring our way, or 
to see a pair fly up before us in a woodsy road. 

They build in a variety of places — on the ground, 
in a bush, on a stump, or on the lower branch of a 
tree. They use a few dry twigs and rootlets which 
they put together so loosely as to justify the observa- 
tion of a Maryland Uncle Remus that " dey builds 
mighty triflin' nesses." Two pure white eggs are laid. 
Langille says " The young doves are well matured be- 
fore they leave the nest, and sit side by side upon the 
ordinarily rude affair. At night the old one sits cross- 
wise upon them, even when they are quite large, the 
nest and birds together making a grotesque pile." 
Outside of nesting season these doves gather in flocks 
and visit grain and corn-fields. 

Bob-white; Quail; Partridge: Colinus virginianus. 

Length 10 inches. 

General color chestnut-brown, marked with black, gray, 
and yellowish-brown; throat, and a broad line over the eye 
white; a black patch on the upper breast. 

Female is buff where male is white. 

Resident (common) all the year. 

How familiar and pleasant is the clear, musical 
whistle of the Bob-white! When you hear it floating 
over the fields, let your glass sweep all the fence- 
stakes in the direction of the sound, and on the top 
of one you will almost surely discover the handsome 
" game-bird." He is so shy and gentle that we always 
ardently hope he may escape the merciless dog and 
gun which we know will soon be after him and his 
pretty flock. 

Quail know well the value of their protective color- 
ing, and when surprised they keep to the ground, 



ISO RUFFED GROUSE 

scattering in every direction, and then are so still that 
they can scarcely be seen even when the eye rests on 
them. If forced to take wing, they rise with a loud 
whirr that is startling to one who does not know 
what to expect. When all danger is past, soft, sweet 
call-notes bring them together again. 

The nest is on the ground in grassy fields, and the 
eggs (usually 10 to 15, although Mr. Ridgway once 
found 26) are pure white. As soon as the downy 
young are out of the shell, they run about and are 
marvelously quick. Quail are extremely useful to 
agriculturists, eating potato-bugs and the moths that 
produce cut-worms. 

Ruffed Grouse : Bonasa umbelhts. 

Length about 18 inches. 

General color reddish-brown, variegated with black, buff, 
gray, and white. 

Under parts whitish, barred with brown. 

A broad black band at the end of the tail which is tipped 
with gray. 

A large loose tuft of glossy black feathers on each side of 
the neck, like a ruff. 

Resident all the year, but very uncommon. 

Mr. Rowland Robinson writes: "The wild turkey 
is passing away, and it is a question of but few years 
when he shall have departed forever. In some locali- 
ties the next noblest of our game birds, the ruffed 
grouse, has become almost a thing of the past, and in 
some years is everywhere so scarce that there are sad 
forebodings of his complete disappearance from the 
rugged hills of which he seems as much a belonging 
as the lichened rocks, the arbutus and the windswept 
evergreens." 



AMERICA N WO OD CO CK 1 5 I 

The Ruffed Grouse likes the wildest, thickest 
woods, preferably those which have never been dis- 
turbed by man. He may still be found in some places 
in Virginia, rarely at Falls Church. 

Wild Turkey: Meleagris gallopavo. 

The Wild Turkey resembles the domestic fowl, but 
is more brilliant in color and his tail and its coverts 
are tipped with chestnut-red instead of white. 

The nest is on the ground, generally under a bush. 

Resident (rare) all the year. 

American Woodcock: Philohela minor. 

Length n inches. 

Upper parts mixed black, brown, tawny, and gray. 

Under parts reddish-brown of different shades; a white 
patch on the throat. 

Very long bill, and short, round tail. 

Resident (rather common) from February to November; 
a few winter. 

Woodcock will be found in damp woods or thickets 
near the Potomac or Anacostia swamps. They keep 
secluded during the day and go out towards evening 
to bore for worms. If, in the late afternoon, you 
come across a group of small round holes freshly 
bored in the mud you may know that Woodcock are 
near. They are exceedingly shy birds and only by 
keeping yourself unseen and unheard may you per- 
haps " catch the beam of that dark liquid eye that has 
no equal on earth," or witness the famous aerial 
dance. 

The nest is on the ground, generally in the woods, 
but sometimes in a corn-field. Four buffy, speckled 
eggs are laid in a depression in the earth, with only a 
few leaves under them. When the bird is sitting she 



1 5 2 KILLDEER 

looks so like dead leaves herself that it is hard to see 
her. 

Spotted Sandpiper; Tilt-up: Actitis macularia. 

Length yy 2 inches. 

Olive-brown above, white below, spotted all over with round 
black spots. Young without spots below. 

Very long legs and long bill. 

Resident (uncommon) from April 5 to September 3; more 
abundant in winter. 

This pretty little Sandpiper will be known by his 
distinctly spotted plumage, and also by the peculiar 
tilting of his body when on the ground. When flying 
he often sails for a short distance and then his long, 
narrow wings show a white band. He calls peet weet 
as he flies. 

He is likely to be found anywhere along streams, 
and is commonly seen by Rock Creek in the Zoologi- 
cal Park. 

The nest is on the ground, frequently in planted 
fields near water. The eggs, 4, are buff, much spotted 
and speckled with brown. 

Killdeer: JEgialitis vocifcra. 

Length io*/ inches. 

Upper parts grayish-brown and rusty; forehead, throat, 
collar and wing-patches white. 

Upper tail bright orange-brown; tail-feathers tipped with 
black and white. 

Under parts white, two black bands across the breast. 
Long yellowish legs. 

Resident all the year; abundant only in migration. 

Killdeer are usually seen in small flocks in ploughed 
or grassy fields. They have a characteristic way of 
running rapidly over the ground hunting worms and 
grasshoppers, and when startled take wing with a 



GREEN HERON 153 

shrill cry of kildcc, or dee, dec. This cry is unmistak- 
able and as distinguishing as their peculiar markings. 
Killdeer are found most commonly in the vicinity 
of water. While few nest in the District of Columbia, 
they are not uncommon in Montgomery County, 
Maryland, and are said to breed abundantly about 
Gainesville and Manassas and other places in Vir- 
ginia. The nest is in the grass and the four blotched 
eggs are pear-shaped. 

King Rail : Rallus elegans. 

Length 15 inches. 

Upper parts blackish, the feathers edged with olive-gray; 
chin white and some white on wings. 

Neck and breast bright chestnut; belly and sides dark 
brown barred with "white. 

The downy young are black. 

An uncommon summer resident; may occur in winter. 

The King Rail is also called Fresh-water Marsh- 
hen, which name indicates his haunts. All Rails are 
timid and hide in heavy grass, only flying wdien forced. 

The nest is on the ground in a tussock of grass. 
The eggs, 7 to 12, are buffy, much speckled with 
brown. 

Green Heron; Fly-up-the-Creek: Ardea virescens. 

Length 18 inches. 

Upper parts and low crest bright glossy green; long neck, 
bright chestnut. 

Lower parts grayish. 

Resident (common) from April 15 to September; winters 
from Florida southward. 

Herons are quaint, foreign-looking birds with their 
long necks and low plumy crests. The Green Heron 
is likely to be found in any damp woods near water. 
Its nest is in trees or bushes, and is only a platform 



1 54 LEAST BITTERN 

of twigs and sticks. Before the young are large 
enough to fly, they creep about in the tree-tops or sit 
in a row on a branch waiting to be fed. The eggs, 
3 to 6, are dull greenish-blue. 

Great Blue Heron: Ardea herodias. 

Length about 4 feet. 

Upper parts bluish-gray; long neck pale brownish-gray, 
streaked with black spots down the front. 

Low crest black, except middle feathers, which are white. 

This splendid Heron is more or less common all the 
year, and is supposed to breed in this vicinity, but is 
not positively known to do so. He wanders about in 
the water, hunting fish and frogs, and is said to eat 
mice and snakes also. He hunts at night as well as 
by day. These Herons nest and roost in trees, gen- 
erally in colonies. The nest is a platform of sticks, 
and the eggs, 3 to 4, are dull blue. 

Least Bittern: Ardetta exilis. 

Length 13 inches. 

Male, head and neck glossy black; back of neck chestnut- 
red. 

Under parts buffy. 

Female, head and back brownish; under parts darker than 
in male and streaked with brown. 

Resident (not common) May 5 to September 25. 

This is the smallest of the Herons and is exceed- 
ingly shy and retiring, keeping in the thickest reeds 
and grasses of the marshes. He seldom flies unless 
alarmed and then only a few yards. He feeds mostly 
at night and is not likely to be seen before sunset. 

The nest is on the ground in thick rushes or in a 
low bush. The eggs, 3 to 6, are bluish-white. 



WOOD DUCK 155 

Black-crowned Night Heron ; " Quawk " : Nycticorax 
nycticorax ncci ins. 

Length about 2 feet. 

Crown and upper back glossy greenish-black; lower back, 
wings and short tail, ashy-gray. 

Under parts white, often tinged with yellowish or lilac. 

Long bill, black. The adults frequently have three long 
white plumes on the head. 

Not uncommon in summer; occasional in winter. 

The Black-crowned Herons live in colonies, build- 
ing in the tops of small pines. They are generally 
found on the road to Falls Church and there is quite 
a large colony in the neighborhood of Bennings. 
The nests are built of sticks and the eggs, 4 to 5, are 
dull blue. 

These Herons keep quiet during the day, only 
going out after sunset, unless they have young birds 
to feed. As they fly they call quazvk, from which they 
get their common name. 

Wood Duck: Aix sponsa. 

Length 18 inches. 

Greenish crest; white markings on sides of head; back 
greenish-brown; neck and upper breast bright chestnut, 
with fine white spots. Lower parts white, the sides barred 
with black. 

Female, head brownish; breast and sides grayish-brown 
streaked with buffy. 

Resident (uncommon) all the year. 

The beautiful Wood Duck is less rare in spring and 
fall than the rest of the year, and may be found by 
streams and ponds where they are bordered with 
woods. 

The nest is in a hole in a tree or stump. The eggs, 
8 to 14, are buffy white. It is said the downy young 
are carried from the nest to the ground in the bill 
of the parent. 



MIGRATION. 

There are two annual migrations of birds, one in 
autumn and one in spring. On the approach of cold 
weather most insect-eating birds go south' and remain 
through the winter, returning in spring as soon as 
their food is assured. The birds that do not migrate 
live on flesh, buds of trees, wild berries, and the seeds 
of weeds and grasses, which may be found at any time. 
A few- species that are insect-eating to a great extent, 
change their diet to one of seeds and buds when win- 
ter comes, and are thus enabled to remain in a cold 
climate. On the other hand, many seed-eating birds - 
go south because they find food more abundant there. 

In both spring and fall migration the time of arrival 
of every species at a given place is known, and seldom 
varies more than a few days except in case of unusual 
storm. In the spring of 1882 extreme cold and very 
severe storms occurred along the Atlantic coast with 
the effect of retarding all migrants at points south of 
Washington; these being suddenly released by a 
change of weather came on in hosts, and for several 
days the streets and parks of the city were crow T ded 
with the most beautiful and rare birds. In this part 
of the country migrants from the south pass up the 
coast to Cape Henry, thence up the Chesapeake Bay, 
and up the Potomac, Delaware and Susquehanna 
Rivers to their northern breeding-places. 

It is interesting to notice that as these migrants 
roam through the woods in search of food all move- 



MIGRATION 157 

ment is in the direction of their migration, and thus 
the close of a day finds them some distance farther on 
their way. The male birds of some species migrate 
before the females and the adults before the young. 

Although many birds, like the Warblers and 
Thrushes, travel leisurely and consume weeks in the 
journey, some make wonderful flights. Pigeons have 
been killed in Xew England with their crops full of 
undigested rice, which could only have been picked 
up the day before in the great rice-fields of Georgia 
or Carolina. Ducks and geese fly at the rate of sixty 
or seventy miles an hour, while the Northern Black 
Cloud Swift, it is said, averages eighty miles an hour, 
and can cover from fifteen hundred to two thousand 
miles a day. 

On cloudy nights migrants fly low and their calls 
can be plainly heard. On foggy and rainy nights 
birds are likely to lose their way, and along the coast 
lighthouses attract them, so that often large numbers 
are killed by flying against the lights. In Washing- 
ton they strike the Monument, and in the early morn- 
ing after such a night the unfortunates may be picked 
up — sometimes rare species among them. 

The distances between the summer and winter 
homes of different birds vary greatly. Many of our 
summer residents winter in the Southern States, com- 
paratively near, while other birds that nest far north 
migrate to South America. The Golden Plover 
breeds in Arctic America and migrates the entire 
length of North and South America to Patagonia; 
and certain shore birds which nest in the islands of 
Bering Sea winter in the Hawaiian Islands/ making 
a journey of two thousand miles, with apparently no 
opportunity to rest or feed on the way. 



158 MIGRATION 

The vernal migration is much more satisfactory to 
observers than the autumnal, for in spring the birds 
are in song, and the males wear their gayest colors, 
while in fall their voices are heard only in call-notes, 
many of the males have changed to dull and incon- 
spicuous hues, and the strange-plumaged young are 
also there to complicate matters. From the middle 
of April to the last of May, however, a morning spent 
among the birds is not only interesting but is posi- 
tively exciting as one tries to identify the many species 
within sight and hearing. 

Around Washington there is no better place to 
observe the migrations than the unfrequented parts 
of the Zoological Park and Rock Creek Park adjoin- 
ing. This piece of well-wooded and watered country 
has long been known to ornithologists as a regular 
stopping-place for many migrants, including some 
rare ones, and its public use has not yet made any 
perceptible change in the birds, except with such ex- 
tremely shy species as naturally avoid man. 

C. M. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF MIGRANTS AND WINTER 
RESIDENTS 

Wilson's Thrush; Veery: Tardus fusccscens. 

Upper parts cinnamon-brown, not so bright as in the 
Wood Thrush; under parts whitish; sides of the throat and 
breast lightly spotted with brown, the spots small and 
wedge-shaped. Length J l /z inches. April 25 to May 28. 
Common. 

Gray-cheeked Thrush: Turd us alicice. 

Whole of upper parts uniform greenish-olive; eye-ring 
and cheeks grayish; under parts white, sides of throat and 
breast faintly tinged with yellowish and spotted with black; 
sides ashy. Length y J / 2 - inches. May 10 to June 5. Rather 
common. 

Olive-backed Thrush: Turdus ustulatus swainsonii. 

Like the Gray-cheeked, except that the eye-ring is deep 
cream-buff, and whole throat and breast are strongly tinged 
with yellowish. Length 7 inches. May 5 to 28. 

Hermit Thrush: Turdus aojialascJikcu pallasii. 

Upper parts olive-brown; tail reddish-brown, contrasting 
strongly with color of back; under parts white, breast and 
sides of throat heavily spotted with black. Length J l / 2 
inches. April 5 to May 15. Common; may winter. 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Regidus calendula. 

Upper parts olive-green, wings and tail dusky, the former 
with two white bars; crown ruby red; under parts white, 



160 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

slightly washed with yellowish. Female and young without 
the red crown. Length 4.V2 inches. April 5 to May 8. 
Abundant. 

Golden-crowned Kinglet: Regutus satrapa. 

Upper parts olive-green, wings and tail dusky; crown 
rich orange in male, yellow in female, in both bordered with 
black; under parts dull whitish. Length 4 inches. Octo- 
ber 5 to April 25. Abundant. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch: Sitta canadensis. 

Upper parts bluish-gray; top of head and a wide stripe 
through the eye, black in the male, bluish-gray in female; 
line over eye white; white patches on the tail; under parts 
reddish-brown. Length 4^2 inches. September 18 to May 
10. Irregularly abundant. 

Brown Creeper : Certhia familiaris amcricana. 

Upper parts brown, streaked and mottled like the bark 
of a tree; rump light reddish-brown; tail-feathers stiff and 
sharply pointed; under parts white. Length 5V2 inches. 
September 25 to April 20. Common in winter. 

Winter Wren: Anortliura hicmalis. 

Upper parts dark cinnamon-brown, wings and tail finely 
barred with black; under parts paler, the sides and belly 
barred with black. Tail very short, carried more or less 
erect. Length 4 inches. September 25 to May 1. Common 
in winter. 

Bewick's Wren: Thryomanes bewickii. 

Upper parts dark cinnamon-brown; central tail-feathers 
barred, outer ones black with whitish tips; tail longer than 
wings; a white line over the eye; under parts white. Length 
5 inches. April 5 to 20; November 25 to December 20. Rare. 



MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS l6l 

American Pipit; Titlark: Anthus pensilvanicus. 

Upper parts brownish-gray, a white line over the eye; 
outer tail-feathers white; under parts buffy, streaked with 
black. Hind toe-nail as long as the toe. Length 6 T / 2 inches. 
October 15 to April 25. Sometimes abundant in winter. 



Golden-winged Warbler: Helminthophila chrysoptera. 

Upper parts bluish-gray; crown and large wing-patch 
golden-yellow; white tail-patches; white and black mark- 
ings about the head; a black patch on the throat and upper 
breast, which is grayish in female; rest of under parts 
white. Length 5 inches. May 1 to 25; August. Rare. 



Tennessee Warbler: Helminthophila pcregrina.- 

Back bright olive-green, top and sides of head bluish- 
gray; no wing-bars; under parts white. Length 5 inches. 
Very rare in May, sometimes common in fall from August 
25 to October 15. 



Nashville Warbler: Helminthophila rubricapilla. 

This Warbler is like the Tennessee except that the under 
parts are yellow instead of white, and there is a partially 
concealed chestnut patch in the center of the crown. Wings 
and tail edged with olive-green. May 5 to 20; September 
5 to 20. Uncommon. 



Cape May Warbler: Dcndroica tigrina. 

Upper parts olive-green streaked with black; white on the 

wings; ear-patch chestnut-red; under parts yellow, heavily 

streaked with black. Female without ear-patch. Length 

5 inches. May 5 to 20; August 5 to October 5. Sometimes 

common, usually rare. 
11 



1 62 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

Black-throated Blue Warbler: Dendroica ccoridcscens. 

Male, upper parts grayish-blue; large white spot on wing; 
sides of head and throat black; under parts white, sides 
black and white mixed. Female, upper parts olive-green, 
under parts yellowish; white spot as in male. Length sYa 
inches. April 25 to May 25; August 25 to October 15. 
Abundant. 



Myrtle Warbler; Yellow-rumped Warbler: Den- 
droica coronata. 

Upper parts bluish-gray streaked with black; breast marked 
with black, more heavily in the male; wing-bars, tail-patches 
and throat white; rump, crown and sides of breast yellow. 
Length s T A inches. October 1 to May 20. Common. 

Magnolia Warbler: Dendroica maculosa. 

Upper parts black, much white on wings and tail; a white 
line behind the eye; under parts and rump yellow, the 
breast and sides distinctly streaked with black. Length 5 
inches. April 25 to May 30; August 15 to October 10. 
Common. 

Chapman says this bird may be known in any plu- 
mage by the white patches on the tail being at the 
tips instead of near the middle of the feathers. 

Chestnut-sided Warbler: Dendroica pensylvanica. 

Upper parts olive-gray streaked with black; sides chest- 
nut; crown yellow, bordered with black; sides of head and 
under parts white. Young very different; upper parts yel- 
lowish-green; under parts white, the sides sometimes with 
spots of chestnut. Length 5 inches. April 28 to June 1; 
August 10 to October 1. Abundant. 



MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 163 

Bay-breasted Warbler: Dcndroica castanea. 

Back thickly streaked with black and gray; white wing- 
bars and tail-patches; crown chestnut in male, olive-green 
and black in female; forehead and sides of head black; 
throat, upper breast and sides chestnut-red; lower breast 
and belly buffy- white. Length 5V2 inches. May 10 to 20; 
September 1 to October 20. Sometimes common, usually 
uncommon. 



Black-poll Warbler: Dcndroica striata. 

Upper parts ashy streaked with black; two white wing- 
bars and white tail-patches; crown black; under parts white 
streaked with black. Female, upper parts olive-green, dis- 
tinctly streaked with black; under parts tinged with yel- 
low. Length $y 2 inches. May 1 to June 5; September 6 
to October 20. Abundant. 



Blackburnian Warbler: Dcndroica blackbumice. 

Upper parts chiefly black, wings and tail largely marked 
with white; throat and breast, cheeks, and center of black 
crown bright orange-red. In the young the orange is dull 
yellow. Length S T A inches. May 6 to 20; August 20 to 
October. Common. 



Black- throated Green Warbler: Dcndroica virens. 

Upper parts clear olive-green; wings and tail dusky: 
wings with two white bars, outer tail-feathers mostly white; 
forehead and sides of head yellow; throat and upper breast 
glossy black in male, mixed with yellowish in female; rest 
of under parts yellowish-white, the sides streaked with black. 
Length 5 inches. April 25 to May 28; August 28 to October 
20. Common. 



1 64 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

Yellow Palm Warbler: Dendroica palmarum hypo- 
chrysea. 

Upper parts olive, greener on the rump; crown chestnut, 
brighter in male; no wing-bars; tail with broad white patches 
near tjie end; under parts, and line over the eye bright yel- 
low; throat, breast, and sides streaked with chestnut. 
Length sVa inches. March 28 to April 30; October. Com- 
mon. 

Palm Warbler: Dendroica palmarum. 

Much like the preceding, but the belly is dull whitish 
instead of yellow. April 30 to May 18; September. Rare. 

Water-Thrush: Seiurus noveboracensis. 

Upper parts dull grayish-olive; no white wing-bars or 
tail-patches; a buffy line over the eye; under parts yellow- 
ish-white, streaked all over with black, including throat. 
Length 6 inches. April 25 to May 25; July 20 to Septem- 
ber. Common. 

Connecticut Warbler: Geothlypis agilis. 

LTpper parts olive-green, no wing-bars or tail-patches; 
head and breast ashy; eye-ring white; belly yellow; sides 
washed with olive-green. Length S T A inches. Rare in 
spring, late May; common from August 28 to October 15. 

Mourning Warbler: Geothlypis Philadelphia. 

This species is like the preceding, but has shorter wings 
and longer tail, and no white eye-ring; breast black. May 
15 to 30; August. Very rare. 

Hooded Warbler: Wilsonia mitrata. 

Upper parts olive-green, head and neck glossy black, 
a broad band of golden-yellow passing through and beyond 
the eye; under parts bright yellow. Length 5^ inches. 
May 1 to 30; August 15 to September 15. Rare. 



MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 165 

Wilson's Warbler: Wilsonia pusilla. 

Upper parts bright olive-green, no marks on wings or 
tail; black crown-cap; under parts bright yellow. Female 
and young without black cap. Length 5 inches. May 8 to 
20; August 28 to September 15. Uncommon. 

Canadian Warbler: Wilsonia canadensis. 

Whole upper parts gray; a necklace of black spots across 
the yellow breast. Female duller. Length S T A inches. May 
5 to 25; August 7 to September 25. Common. 

Philadelphia Vireo: Virco philadelphicus. 

Much like the Warbling Vireo but smaller, and entire 
under parts are pale greenish-yellow. May and September. 
Very rare. 

Blue-headed Vireo: Vireo solitarins. 

Upper parts olive-green; top and sides of head bluish 
gray; eye-ring white; two white wing-bars, and white on 
tail. Length S J A inches. April 10 to May 10; September 
to October 25. Common. 

Loggerhead Shrike: Lanins ludovicianus migrans." 

Upper parts slaty-gray; wings and tail black, the wings 
with a large white spot, and the outer tail-feathers tipped 
w T ith white; under parts white. Length 9 inches. August 
10 to April 5. Rare. 

Tree Swallow; White-bellied Swallow: Tachycineta 

bicolor. 

Upper parts glossy metallic-green; under parts pure white. 
The young are bluish-gray above, with white on wings. 
Length 6 inches. April 1 to May 25; July 10 to September. 
Common. 

* Migrant Shrike; Wm. Palmer, Auk, July, 1898. 



1 66 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

Purple Finch: Carpodacus purpurciis. 

Male, general color rose-red. brightest on crown, rump 
and breast. Under parts lighter, becoming white on the 
belly. Female, very different; upper parts grayish, finely 
streaked with black like a sparrow; under parts white, 
streaked and spotted. Length 6^4 inches. September 15 to 
May 15. Common in migrations. 

American Crossbill: Loxia curvirostra minor. 

Tips of bill crossed; body dull red. Female and young 
dull olive-green, the young sometimes mixed with red. 
Length 6 inches. Irregular winter visitors, sometimes abun- 
dant. 

Pine Siskin: Spinus pinus. 

Upper parts streaked brown and gray, darkest on head 
and neck; feathers of wings and tail yellow at base; under 
parts buffy-white, heavily streaked with black. Length 5 
inches. October to April. Irregularly abundant. 

Savanna Sparrow: Ammodramus sandwichensis sa- 
vanna. 

Pale yellow line over the eye and yellow on the bend of 
the wing; upper parts dark, under parts light, much streaked 
all over with black and brown, the marks on the breast 
wedge-shaped. Length 5^ inches. March 20 to May 5; 
October 15 to November 15. Abundant in migration; a few 
winter. 

White-crowned Sparrow: Zonotrichia leiicophrys. 

Top of head has pure white stripe bordered by black lines 
of equal width; general color ashy-gray, the wings and tail 
darker, and wings with touches of white. Length 7 inches. 
April 15 to May 1; October 15 to December 1. Irregularly 
common; may w r inter. 



MJGRAATS AND WINTER RESIDENTS \6j 

White-throated Sparrow; Peabody Bird: Zonotrichia 
albicollis. 

A black crown divided by three white stripes; white patch 
on throat; line before eye and bend of wing yellow; upper 
parts brown streaked with black; two white wing-bars; under 
parts whitish. Length 6^4 inches. September 28 to May 20. 
Very common in Zoological Park. 

Tree Sparrow; Winter Chippy: Spizella monticola. 

Crown bright chestnut; line over eye, cheeks, throat and 
breast gray; rest of plumage brownish streaked with darker; 
black spot on breast; two whitish wing-bars. Length 6% 
inches. November 1 to April 5. Abundant winter visitant. 

Slate-colored Junco; Snowbird: J unco hyemalis. 

Upper parts, throat and breast slate color; belly pure 
white; no wing-bars; outer tail-feathers white. Length 6^4 
inches. October 5 to April 25. Abundant. 

Lincoln's Sparrow: Mclospiza lincolnii. 

Lincoln's Sparrow, which is a rare migrant, is distin- 
guished by a cream-buff band across the striped breast. 
Length 5*4 inches. May and October. 

Swamp Sparrow: Melospiza gcorgiaua. 

Forehead black; crown chestnut-red, in winter with black 
stripes; a gray line over the eye, and sides of neck gray; 
back brown, broadly striped with black, with touches of 
buff and rusty; throat and belly white, breast grayish. 
Length S J A inches. April to May 15; September 25 to 
October 30. Very common migrant; a few winter. 

Fox Sparrow: Passerella iliaca. 

Our largest Sparrow. Upper parts reddish-brown, wings 
and tail brighter; under parts whitish; throat, breast and sides 
heavily spotted zvith reddish-brown like a Thrush. Length 7V2 
inches. February to April 5; October 25 to November. 
Abundant migrant; a few winter. 



1 68 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak: Habia hidoviciana. 

Male, upper parts and throat black; under parts and rump 
white; much white on wings and tail; breast and wing- 
linings with large patches of rose-red. Female, brownish, 
with a white line through the crown and over the eye; saf- 
fron-yellow under wings. Length 8 inches. May i to 20; 
August 25 to October 1. Rather common. 




BOBOLINK. 

Dickcissel; Black-throated Bunting: Spiza amcricana. 
Upper parts brownish, streaked very much like English 
Sparrow; a yellow line over the eye; throat black, breast 
yellow, with black patch in the center. Female, duller, with- 
out black on throat and breast. Length 6 inches. For- 
merly common, now very rarely seen. 



MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 169 

Bobolink; Reed-bird; Rice-bird: Dolichonyx oryziv- 
orus. 

Male in spring plumage, head, wings, tail and under parts 
black; back largely grayish-white, a buff patch on the back 
of the neck. Female, young, and male in fall, brownish 
streaked with black; under parts buffy. Length 7^4 inches. 
Common in spring, May 1 to 25, abundant in fall. 

Rusty Blackbird : Scolecophagus carolinus. 

Lustrous bluish-black all over; female in spring, slate 
color. Winter plumage of both birds tipped with rusty. 
Length g l / 2 inches. October 25 to April 25. Common. 

Horned Lark; Shore Lark: Otocoris alpcstris. 

Upper parts pinkish brown; tail black, outer feathers 
marked with white; forehead, throat and line over the eye 
sulphur-yellow. Horns, sides of throat, and a patch on the 
breast black. Length yy 2 inches. Common November to 
April. 

Alder Flycatcher: Empidonax traillii alnorum. 

Upper parts olive-brown, wings and tail dusky; under 
parts whitish, washed with gray on the breast and sides, 
and on the belly with yellowish; throat pure white; wing- 
bars whitish. Length 6 inches. May 10 to 28; August 15 
to September 25. Irregularly common. 

Least Flycatcher; Chebec: Empidonax minimus. 

This is almost precisely like the Alder, but is smaller, 
being only about 5 inches long. April 25 to May 25; Sep- 
tember 1 to 25. Common. 

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: Empidonax Haviventris. 

Upper parts bright olive-green; under parts yellow, bright- 
est on the belly; throat, breast and sides washed with olive- 
green; wing-bars and eye-ring yellowish. The bright yellow 



170 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

under parts distinguish this from other Flycatchers. Length 
5J/2 inches. May 1 to 30; August 1 to October 1. Rather 
common. 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Sphyrapicns varins. 

Crown and throat deep scarlet. Upper parts black and 
yellowish-white in irregular bars; a broad white line from 
the bill outlines the scarlet throat-patch, and a narrow white 
line passes through the eye; breast black; belly yellow; 
much white on wings. Female paler and duller, without 
scarlet patches. March and April; October. Occasional in 
winter; common migrant. 

Pigeon Hawk: Falco columbarius. 

Upper parts slaty-blue, a broken rusty collar; indistinct 
wing-bars; tail banded with gray or tawny, and tipped with 
white; throat white; under parts tawny, heavily streaked 
with dark brown. Length 10 inches. Not uncommon in 
migrations. 

Short-eared Owl: Asia accipitrinus. 

General color tawny; upper parts variegated with dark 
brown; tail barred broadly and evenly with dark brown; 
under parts streaked with brown. Length 16 inches. Com- 
mon winter visitant. 

Saw- whet Owl: Nyctala acadica. 

Upper parts cinnamon-brown, the back and wings spotted 
with white; tail with three white bars. Length y J / 2 inches. 
The smallest Owl in the Eastern States. A rare winter 
visitant; October to March. 

Snowy Owl : Nyctea nyctca. 

White, more or less barred with brown. Length 2 feet. 
Irregular; sometimes common in winter. 



MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 171 

Wilson's Snipe: Gallinago delicata. 

Crown black, divided by a buff stripe; upper parts dark 
brown, barred and mottled with bright tawny and buff; 
throat and belly white; breast pale cinnamon, indistinctly 
marked with darker; narrow white wing-bars. Length 11 
inches. March to May; fall. Common. Remains in very 
mild winters only. 

Dr. Coues says he used to go Snipe shooting in the 
" slashes " north of N and west of Fourteenth streets. 



Pectoral Sandpiper: Tringa metadata. 

Upper parts black, the feathers all bordered with light 
tawny; throat white; neck and breast heavily streaked with 
black and buffy; upper tail-coverts black. Winter plumage 
similar but darker. Length 9 inches. April; August to 
November. Common. 



Least Sandpiper: Tringa minutilla. 

Upper parts blackish, the feathers edged with bright chest- 
nut, more or less tipped with white; under parts white, 
the breast speckled with blackish. Toes without webs be- 
tween the bases. Winter plumage upper parts brownish- 
gray. Length 6 inches. May; August to October. Un- 
common. 



Greater Yellow-legs; Yellow-shanks: Totanus me- 
lanoleucus. 

Upper parts black, streaked and speckled with white; 
conspicuous white rump; tail barred irregularly with white; 
white breast heavily spotted with black; belly white. Win- 
ter plumage, upper parts brownish-gray, edged with whitish; 
breast only lightly streaked. Length 14 inches. April and 
May; July 25 to November. Rather common. 



172 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

Yellow-legs; Summer Yellow-legs: Tot anus flavipes. 

Like the Greater Yellow-legs, but smaller. Length 10 or 
11 inches. Rather common. 

Solitary Sandpiper : Hclodromas solitarius. 

Upper parts dark olive-brown, faintly speckled with white; 
under parts white, dark brown markings on throat, breast 
and sides. Winter plumage, upper parts grayish-brown; 
dark markings fainter. Length & l / 2 inches. April to May 
2 5; July 25 to November. Common. 

Bartramian Sandpiper; Upland Plover: Bartramia 
longicauda. 

Head, neck and upper parts, black and yellowish-brown; 
breast faint yellowish marked with dusky; belly and throat 
white; crown divided by a buff line. Length iiy 2 inches. 
April to May; July to September. Rare. 

Virginia Rail: Rallus virginianus. 

General effect of color chestnut-red. Upper parts dark 
brown streaked with chestnut; throat white; under parts 
chestnut. Length g l /> inches. 

Sora ; Ortolan : Porzana Carolina. 

Upper parts mixed, olive-brown and black, feathers edged 
with white; throat and breast pale bluish-gray; belly white; 
flanks barred with black and white. Length Sy 2 inches. 
March to May; July to November. Common. 

American Coot; Mud Hen: Fnlica americana. 

General color dark slate, paler below; head and neck black; 
bill flesh color, red at the base; legs and feet greenish. 
Length 15 inches. March to May; September to October 
15. Common. 



MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 173 

American Bittern; Indian Hen: Botaurus lentiginosus. 

General color greenish-brown, upper parts speckled with 
different shades of brown, black and white; a glossy black 
patch on either side of the neck; throat white; under parts 
buffy white with wide streaks of brown and gray. Length 
2Y2 feet. Rather common. 

American Merganser; Goosander: Merganser ameri- 
canus. 

Head and upper neck dark glossy green; lower neck, 
greater part of wings, breast and belly white; back black; 
under parts tinged with salmon. Female, head reddish- 
brown, upper parts ashy-gray. Length 2 feet. Rare. 

Red-breasted Merganser ; Fish Duck : Merganser 
serrator. 

Head and throat greenish-black; a white ring around the 
neck; upper breast and sides of lower neck bright reddish- 
brown; serrate bill, the upper mandible hooked. Length 
22 inches. Female, head grayish-brown, upper parts ashy- 
gray. Winter resident. Uncommon. 

Mallard: Anas boschas. 

Head and neck glossy greenish- or bluish-black, bor- 
dered below by a white ring; breast rich chestnut; under 
parts pale gray, marked with undulating black lines. Length 
about 2 feet. Winter resident. Common; was once resi- 
dent all the year. 

Green-winged Teal: Anas carolinensis. 

Head and neck bright chestnut, except a shining green 
band from eye to nape of neck; green band on wing; a 
white band in front of the wing; belly white. Female, 
brownish, without green except on wing. Length 15 inches. 
September to April. Common. 



174 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

Blue-winged Teal: Anas discors. 

A curving white band in front of each eye; blue on wings, 
also white. Female, without white band before the eye, and 
throat white. September to April. Common. 

Shoveller; Spoonbill: Spatula clypeata. 

Head and upper neck dark glossy green; lower neck 
and upper breast white; lower breast and belly bright chest- 
nut; patches of white and grayish-blue on the wings. A 
distinguishing feature of the Shoveller is the spoon-shaped 
bill, which is much longer than the head, and twice as wide 
at the end as at the base. Length 20 inches. Winter resi- 
dent. Not common. 

Pintail: DaAla acuta. 

Head and neck glossy olive-brown; back of neck striped 
with black and white; back grayish; a green patch on wing; 
lower parts white. Central tail-feathers much elongated. 
Female, duller, no green wing-patch. Length 2*4 feet. 
October to April. Not uncommon. 

Redhead: Aythya americana. 

Head and upper neck bright chestnut-red; lower neck, 
extending on the upper breast and back, black; rest of the 
body grayish; lighter below. Female, head and neck gray- 
ish-brown; upper throat white. Length about i l / 2 feet. 
Common in winter. 

Canvas-back: Aythya vallisneria. 

Much like the Redhead, but the bill' is longer, the head 
is brown, and crown and chin are black. Length 1^4 feet. 
Winter visitant. Rare. 

Scaup Duck: Aythya marila. 

Head and neck, extending on breast and back, black, 
the head with greenish reflections; back with wavy bars of 



Iff GRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS T75 

black and white; under parts white, belly and sides marked 
with wavy black bars. Female, brown where male is black; 
region around bill white. Length i}^ feet. Winter resident. 
Rather common. 

Ring-necked Duck: Aythya collaris. 

Similar to Scaup, but has a chestnut band around the 
neck. Female like female Redhead, but smaller and browner. 
Length i% feet. Winter resident. Not rare. 

American Golden-eye; Whistler: Clangtda clangula 

americana. 

Head green, an oval white patch in front of the eye; 
iris golden-yellow; neck, under parts and large area on wings 
white; rest of plumage black. Female, head cinnamon- 
brown, and less white. Length 20 inches. October to April. 
Not rare. 

Buffle-head; Butter-ball: Charitonetta albeola. 

A broad white band across the back of the head; rest of 
head and neck beautiful iridescent green and blue; back 
black; remainder of plumage mostly white. Female, throat 
and upper parts dark brown; a white patch on sides of 
the head. Length 15 inches. September to April. Com- 
mon. 

Ruddy Duck; Rook: Erismatnra jamaicensis. 

Crown black, cheeks and chin white; neck, back and sides 
of the body chestnut-red; under parts silvery-white, some- 
times mottled; stiff, pointed tail-feathers. Female, upper parts 
dark grayish-brown and buffy; sides of head and throat 
whitish. Length 15 inches. September to April. Common. 

Canada Goose; Wild Goose: Branta canadensis. 

" Winter visitant, arriving in the fall on the ap- 
proach of cold weather. Few probably settle on the 



176 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 

waters within the District, but it is no uncommon 
sight to see files of geese flying over, and they are 
found in the markets and restaurants all through the 
winter." (Avifauna Columbiana.) 

American Herring Gull; Sea Gull: Lams argentatas 
smithsonianus. 

Back and wings pearl-gray, the wings with black mark- 
ings; rest of plumage white. Length 2 feet. October to 
March. Common, especially in spring. Flocks of this and 
the following species may often be seen at low tide on the 
mud flats along the Eastern Branch. 

Ring-billed Gull : Lams delawarensis. 

Back and wings pearl-gray; wings marked with black and 
white; rest of plumage white; bill greenish-yellow, encircled 
near the end with a broad black band. Length 20 inches. 
February to April 5; October to November. Very common. 

Bonaparte's Gull : Lams Philadelphia. 

Much smaller than the preceding. In summer, head and 
upper neck dark slate color; back and wings pearl-gray; 
rest of plumage white. Immature birds and adults in fall 
without black head. Length 14 inches. April to May 5; 
October to November. Common. 

Black Tern: Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis. 

In summer, head, neck and under parts black; back, wings 
and tail slate color; bill and feet black. In winter, forehead 
and under parts white. Length 10 inches. Sometimes com- 
mon in August and September. 

Loon : Gavia imbcr. 

Head and neck dark bluish-green, patches of mottled 
white on throat and sides of neck; upper parts and sides 
glossy black, conspicuously spotted with white; under parts 
white. Length 2^ feet. September to April 25. Common. 



MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS 1 77 

Horned Grebe: Colymbus auritus. 

Large black ruff around the head, two brownish yellow 
plumes above the eyes; back and wings blackish; neck, 
upper breast and sides chestnut; belly white. Length T4 
inches. In winter, all under parts silvery-white. October 
to May. Common. 

Pied-billed Grebe; Dipper: Podilymbus podiceps. 

Upper parts blackish-brown; throat black; upper breast 
and sides mottled; under parts white; black band across 
the bill. In summer, throat white and no black band on 
bill. Length 14 inches. August 25 to May. Common, but 
less so in midwinter. 



LIST OF ALL BIRDS FOUND IN THE DISTRICT OF 
COLUMBIA. 

BY 

DR. C. W. RICHMOND, 

Of the Smithsonian Institution. 







a 






«»s 


05 


? 


no 


ec 






§ 


e 




g 


s 













S . 


'S 




^^ 


•H 


^•S 




5 


sft$ 

g 

Oh 








3 

1 


X 


X 


X 


X 




X 


X 
X 

X 


X 
X 

X 

X 

X* 

X 
X 
X 

X 

X 


X* 

X* 
X 

X* 




X 


X 


? 
X 


X 
X 




X 


X 




X 
X* 


X 


X 


X 


X 


X 
X 




X* 


X 




X 




X* 


X 


X 


X 




? 


X 


X 


X 




X 


X 
X 


X* 

X 
X 


X 
X* 

X 





_ -2QQ 



1. Bluebird 

2. American Robin 

3. Wood Thrush 

4. Wilson's Thrush 

5. Gray-cheeked Thrush . . . 

6. Bicknell's Thrush 

7. Olive-backed Thrush 

8. Hermit Thrush. 

9. Golden-crowned Kinglet. 

10. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. . . 

11. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher . . . 

12. White-breasted Nuthatch 

13. Red-breasted Nuthatch.. 

14. Tuftei Titmouse 

15. Chickadee 

16. Carolina Chickadee 

17. Brown Creeper 

18. Mockingbird 

19. Catbird 

20. Brown Thrasher 

21. Carolina Wren 

22. Bewick's Wren 

23. House Wren 

24. Winter Wren 



April to Oct. 
j April and May; Aug. 
"j and Sept. 

May; Sept. and Oct. 
< Several records; Oct. 
' 3, 1885; May 14 and 
( 18, 1888, etc. 

May; Sept. and Oct. 
j Oct. to May. Usually 

j rare in winter. 

Sept. to April. 
Sept. to Nov.; April 
to May. Rare in 
winter. 

April to Sept. 

Sept. to May. 

j Irregular; Oct. to 
"j April. 

Sept. to April. 
Rare near Washing- 
ton; very rare in 
winter. 
April to Sept. Rare 
) in winter. 
j April to Oct. Rare in 
I winter. 

i March and April; 
) Nov. and Dec. 
April to Sept. or Oct. 
Sept. to May. 



*Rare at this season. 



BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 79 



S* 






25. Short-billed Marsh Wren. 

26. Long-billed Marsh Wren. 

27. American Pipit 

28. Black and White Warbler. 

29. Prothonotary Warbler — 

30. Worm-eating warbler 

31. Blue-winged Warbler 

32. Brewster's Warbler 

33. Golden-winged Warbler . . 

34. Nashville Warbler 

35. Orange-crowned Warbler. 

36. Tennessee Warbler 

37. Parula Warbler 

38. Usnea Warbler 

39. Cape May Warbler 

40. Yellow Warbler 

41. Black-throated Blue ) 

Warbler f 

42. Myrtle Warbler 

43. Magnolia Warbler 

44. Cerulean Warbler 

45. Chestnut-sided Warbler.. 

46. Bay-breasted Warbler 

47. Black-poll Warbler 

48. Blackburnian Warbler 

49. Yellow-throated Warbler. 

50. Black-throated Green ) 

Warbler \ 

51. Kirtland's Warbler 

52. Pine Warbler 

53. Palm Warbler 

54. Yellow Palm Warbler 

55. Prairie Warbler 

56. Oven-bird 

57. Water-Thrush 



p 


v> 




§ 


fi 


^ 




w 




s « 


T3 




■a ? 






«-S> 


!~ 


e 


Cfc^ 


•« 


s 


s 


K 


,33 


Si, 


^ 


fc> 


=c 






X* 




? 


X 






X 


X* 




X 




X 


X 






X* 






X* 






X* 






X* 






X* 






X* 






X 






X 






X 






X 






X 






X 


X 




X 






X* 




9 


X 






X 






X 






X 






9 






X 






X* 




? 


X 






X* 






X 






X 






X 






X 







18 



j Two records : May 9, 
"j 1890 ; May 3, 1893. 

April to Oct. 

Oct. to May. 

April to Oct. 
j Three or four rec- 
I ords in May. 

April to Sept, 

April to Sept. 
j Two records: May 
1 15,1885; May 1,1895. 
j May, Aug., and prob- 
"j ably Sept. 

May; Sept. 
i Two records : Oct. 13, 
j 1889; Oct. 14, 1894. 
j May (very rare) ; 
J Aug. to Oct. 

April to Oct. 
( April to May; Sept. 
1 to Oct. 

May; Aug. to Oct. 

April to Sept. 

April to Oct. 

Sept. to May. 
I April and May ; Aug. 
"/ to Oct. 

(Two records: May 5, 
1 1888; May 11, 1890. 
( April and May ; Aug. 
| to Sept. 

( May ; Aug. to Oct. Ir- 
( regularly common. 
j April to June; Aug. 
I to Oct. 

May ; Aug. to Oct. 
( April or May to Sept. 
j Rare in summer. 
j April and May ; Aug. 
I to Oct. 

\ One record : Sept. 25, 
1 1887. 

March to Oct. 
J Late April to May 
Sept. and Oct. 

March and early 
April ; Sept. and 
Oct. 

April to Sept. 

April to Oct. 
J April and May ; July 
| to Sept. 



* Rare at this season. 



l8o BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 







s 












§ 


ec 










s 




j* 


b. 


£ 


s 






c 


V 






3 *s 


2 


£ 




S 




Q OS 






§3 




S 










r\ 


« 




£ 


6 



^ 



•59. 

60. 

61. 

62. 
63. 
64. 



Grinnell's Water-Thrush . 

Louisiana Water-Thrush . 
Kentucky Warbler 

Connecticut Warbler 



Mourning Warbler 

Maryland Yellow-throat. . . 
Yellow-breasted Chat 



65. Hooded Warbler. 



66. Wilson's Warbler. . 

67. Canadian Warbler 

68. American Redstart 

69. Red-eyed Vireo , 

70. Philadelphia Vireo 

71 . Warbling Vireo 

72. Yellow-throated Vireo. 

73. Blue-headed Vireo 

74. White-eyed Vireo 

75. Northern Shrike 

76. Loggerhead Shrike.. .. 

77. Cedar Waxwing 



78. Purple Martin. 

79. Cliff Swallow... 

80. Barn Swallow . 

81. Tree Swallow.. 



82. Bank Swallow 

83. Rough-winged Swallow. . 

84. Scarlet Tanager 

85. Summer Tauager 

86. Pine Grosbeak 

87. Purple Finch 



88. American Crossbill. 



89. White-winged Crossbill. . . 

90. Redpoll 

91. American Goldfinch 



92. Pine Siskin 

93. Snowflake 

94. Lapland Longspur 

95. Vesper Sparrow 

96. Savanna Sparrow 

9 7 . Grasshopper Sparrow. 







X 




X 






X 


X 










X 


X 
X 

X* 










X 


X 










X 


X 










? 


X* 

X 
X 










X* 


X 










X 


X 
X* 










X 


X 










X 


X 
X 










X 


X 
? 


X* 
X* 






X 


X* 

X 

X* 

X 

? 

X 
X 
X* 
X* 


? 

X 
X 
X 

X 

X 
X 
X 
X 


X* 










X 


X* 


X 




? 


? 




X 

X* 
X* 


? 

X 
X 




X 


X 




X 










X 


X 

X 
X 


? 

X 
X 




X 


X* 
X 


X 

X 
X 


X* 
X* 







i Three records : May 
} and Aug. 

April to Sept. 

May to Sept. 
\ May (rare^ ; Aug. to 
I Oct. 

May , Aug. to Oct. 

April to Oct. 

April to Sept. 
j April to June; Aug.. 
j and Sept. 

May; Aug. and Sept. 

May ; Aug. and Sept. 

April to Sept. 

April to Oct. 

May; Sept. 

April to Sept. 

April to Sept. 

April to Oct. 

April to Oct. 

Nov. to Feb. 

Aug. to April. 
j Common in spring 
1 and autumn. 

April to Sept. 

April to Sept. 

March to Sept. 
\ March to May ; July 
j to Oct. 

April to Sept. 

April to Sept. 

April to Oct. 

April to Sept. 

No recent records. 

Sept. to May. 

Formerly rare and 
irregular; now 
common in winter. 

No recent records. 

No recent records, 
j Nests very late ; 
1 July-Sept. 
j Irregularly common 
•< in winter;" Oct. to 
( May. 

Irregular. 
j One record : Dec- 11, 
1 1886. 

j Oct. to May ; rare in 
I midwinter. 
( Oct. to May ; rare in 
\ midwinter. 

March to Oct. 



* Rare at this season. 



BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 181 



v. 


05 

£ 

S 

1 


s 

s ^ 

I* 1 


8 

OS 




3 


X 

V 

5 2 
"§ 



98. Henslow's Sparrow 

99. Nolson's Sparrow 

100. Lark Sparrow 

101. White-crowned Sparrow.. 

102. White-throated Sparrow. 
1U3. Tree Sparrow 

104. Chipping Sparrow 

105. Field Sparrow 

100. Slate-colored Junco 

1C7. Shufeldt's Junco 

103. Bachman's Sparrow.. .. 

109. Song Sparrow 

110. Lincoln's Sparrow 

111. Swamp Sparrow 

112. Fox Sparrow 

113. Towhee; Chewink 

114. Cardinal 

115. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 

116. Blue Grosbeak 

117. Indigo Bunting 

118. Dlckclssel 

119. European House Sparrow 

120. Bobolink 

121. Cowbird 

122. Yellow-headed Blackbird 

123. Red-winged Blackbird. 

124. Meadowlark 

125. Orchard Oriole 

126. Baltimore Oriole 

127. Rusty Blackbird 

128. Purple Grackle 



X* X 



April to Oct. 
j Two records : Sept., 
I 1862; Sept. 18, 1893. 
( Several records : 
< Aug. 25 and 27, 1877; 
[ Aug. 8, 1886. 
( Oct. to May , irregu- 
■j lar and rare in 
f winter. 

Sept. to May. 

Nov. to April. 
\ March ; Nov. Rare 
I in midwinter. 

Sept. to May. 
j One instance : April 
1 28, 1890. 

j One instance: April 
\ 29, 1896. 

S Common, but more 
1 so iu migrations. 
j Several records : 
I May and Oct. 
j Sept. to May. Rare 
) in midwinter. 
S Oct. to April. Rare 
1 in midwinter. 
April to Oct. Irregu- 
larly present in 
winter. 
Less common than 

formerly. 
May; Aug. to Sept. 
May to Sept.; of local 

distribution. 
May to Oct. 
Formerly common, 
now very rarely 
seen. 



May; Aug. to Oct. 
One record; Aug. 29, 

1892. 



^ f Most 
April tO Sept. ! common 

-{ in the 
April tO Sept. j misra- 

Oct. to April. 
\ Winters only in very 
j mild seasons. 



*Rare at this season. 



1 82 BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 



l«s 



5i 



-2 S. 



Bron zed Grackle 

Blue Jay. 

American Crow 

Fish Grow 

Horned Lark 

Prairie Horned Lark 

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 
Kingbird 

Arkansas Kingbird 

Crested Flycatcher 

Phoebe.. 



129. 
130. 
131. 
132. 
133. 
134. 
135. 
136. 

137. 

138. 
139. 



140- Olive-sided Flycatcher. 



141. 
142. 
143. 
144. 

145. 

146. 

147. 
148. 
149. 
150. 
151. 

152. 



Wood pewee 

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 
Green-crested Flycatcher 
Alder Flycatcher (Traill's) 

Least Flycatcher 



Ruby-throated Hum- ( 

mingbird (" 

Chimney Swift 

Whip-poor-will 

Nighthawk 

Hairy Woodpecker 

Downy Woodpecker 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 



153. Pileated Woodpecker. 



154. 
155. 
156. 



Red-headed Woodpecker. 
Red-bellied Woodpecker. 
Flicker 



157. Belted Kingfisher . 



158. 
159. 



Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 
Black-billed Cuckoo. . . 



160. Carolina Paroquet. , 

161. American Long-eared 

Owl 

162. Short-eared Owl. 



i-ed \ 



163. Barred Owl. 



164. Saw-whet Owl. 

165. Screech Owl... 



166. Great Horned Owl. 



1 x 



X 








X 


X* 

X 

X 






? 


X 






? 


X* 




X 


X 






X 


X 








X 


X* 




? 


X 








X 








X 








X 








X 








X 








X 








1 X 








; X 


X* 
X 






X 


X* 
X* 






X 


X* 






? 


X 






X 


X* 
X* 






X 








X 


X 






X 


X 
X 






? 


X* 
X 

X 







Aug. to April ? 

April to Sept. 
j One record : Sept. 30, 
1 1874. 

April to Sept. 

Winters irregularly. 
j One record : Sept., 
{ 1881. 

May to Oct. 

May ; Aug. to Oct. 

May to Sept. 

May; Aug. to Sept. 
i April and May ; Aug. 
1 to Sept. 

Late April to Oct. 

April to Sept. or Oct. 
April to Oct. 
April to Sept. 



Sept. to April. Rare 

in winter. 
Frequent near Falls 

Church. 



A permanent resi- 
dent when winters 
are very mild. 

May to Oct. 

May to Oct. Rare. 

Now exterminated ; 
one recorded in- 
stance, Sept., 1865. 

Nests in pine woods 

in old crows' nests. 

Found aloug the 
marshes. 

Uncommon in the 
Immediate vicinity 
of Washington. 

Oct. to March. 

Rare in immediate 
vicinity of Wash- 
ington. 



* Rare at this season. 



RIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 83 



55 ,5S 
53i> 



167. Suowy Owl 

168. American Barn Owl 

169. Swallow-tailed Kite 

170. Marsh Hawk 

171. Sharp-shinned Hawk 

172. Cooper's Hawk 

173. American Goshawk 

174. Red-tailed Hawk 

175. Red-shouldered Hawk... 

176. Broad-winged Hawk 

177. American Rough-/ 

legged Hawk j 

178. Golden Eagle 

179. Bald Eagle 

180. Duck Hawk 

181. Pigeon Hawk ; 

182. Sparrow Hawk.... 

183. American Osprey 

184. Turkey Vulture; Buz- I 

zard f 

185. Black Vulture 

186. Passenger Pigeon 

187. Mourning Dove 

188. Ground Dove 

189. Wild Turkey 

190. Bob-white 

191. Ruffed Grouse 

192. Turnstone 

193. American Golden Plover. 

194. Killdeer ,. ... 

195. Semipalmated Plover 

196. Belted Piping Plover 

197. American Woodcock 



X x : 



X X* 



\ Irregular;sometimes 
j common in winter. 
\ Nestsin Smithsonian 
J and Jail towers. 
iln two instances: 
< Aug. 3, 1895, and 
( April 11, 1897. 
July to April. 

Irregular. 



Rather uncommon. 

Irregular. 

i Breeds at Mt. Vernon 
1 and Great Falls. 
Uncommon. 

1 Most common in 
\ winter. 

Seen at times insum- 
mer, but does not 
nest. 



\ In one instance ; 

) March 30, 1895. 
Now very irregular ; 
mainly in Sept. 
and Oct. 
Rare in midwinter. 

I In two instances: 

< Sept.,1844,andOct. 

( 14, 1888. 

\ Rare or exterminat- 
ed near Washing- 

^ ton, but found in 
heavy timber in 

L Virginia. 



Several records. 



May, Aug. and Sept. 
i March ; May. Two 
| records. 
i Remains in very 
| mild winters only. 



f Rare at this season. 



1 84 BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 



V< 



5 



« ©J 

SSI 



198. 

199. 

200. 

201. 
202. 

203. 

204. 
205. 
206. 
207. 
208. 

209. 

210. 

211. 
212. 
213. 

214. 

215. 
216. 

217. 

218. 
219. 
220. 

221. 



223. 

224. 

225. 

226. 
227. 



Wilson's Suipe. 

Dowitcher 

Long-billed Dowitcher. . . 

Stilt Sandpiper 

Pectoral Sandpiper 

Baird's Sandpiper 

Least Sandpiper 

Ked-backed Sandpiper... 
Semipalmated Sandpiper 

Western Sandpiper 

Sanderling 

Greater Yellow-legs 

Yellow-legs 

Solitary Sandpiper 

Willet 

Ruff 

Bartramian Sandpiper. . 

Spotted Sandpiper 

Long-billed Curlew 

Red Phalarope 

Northern Phalarope 

King Rail 

Clapper Rail 

Virginia Rail 

Sora 

Yellow Rail 

Black Rail 

Florida Gallinule 

American Coot , 

Sandhill Crane 



X* 



1 Remains in very 

j mild winters only. 

3 One record: Sept., 

1 1879. 

t One instance: April, 

1 1884. 

\ One record : Sept. 8, 

1 1885. 

April; Aug. to Oct. 
(Two records: Sept. 
J 3, 1894, and Sept. 
( 25, 1894. 

May ; Aug. to Oct. 

April; Oct. 

May ; Aug. to Oct. 

Sept. 

Sept. and Oct. 
j April and May; July 
J to Oct. or later. 
j April and May; Aug. 
I to Oct. or later. 
j April and May; July 
j to Nov. 

( In one instance : 
1 Sept. 3, 1894. 
j March to May; July 
"j to Sept. 
April to Sept. or later. 

\ One record : Oct. 17, 

) 18S5. 

j One record : Aug. 31, 

"j 1891. 
May occur in winter. 

j One record: Sept. 8, 

1 1882. 

j May remain until 

1 winter. 

J March to May ? and 

I Aug. to Nov. 

j March to April or 

< May? and Sept.? to 

/ Nov. 

I Sept.; Oct. Fewrec- 

") ords. 
April — ; Aug. to Oct. 
Possible in mid- 
winter. 

i March to May ; Sept. 

j to Oct. or later. 

j One instance years 

I ago. 



* Rare at this season. 



BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 85 



2^ 





»5 


S-. 


V. 












5* 




— 2» 


^ 


S2 


e 
3 


§&5 






« 


O 


O 


^5 



228. American Bittern. 

229. Least Bittern 



230. Great Blue Heron. 



231. American Egret . 

232. Snowy Heron 



233. Little Blue Heron 

234. Green Heron 

235. Black-crowned Night ( 

Heron j 

235a. Yellow-crowned Night / 
Heron f 



236. Wood Ibis . 



237. Glossy This. 



238. American Merganser 

239. Red-breasted Merganser. 



240. Hooded Merganser. 

241. Mallard 

242. Black Duck 

243. Gad wall 



244. Widgeon 

245. Baldpate 

246. European Teal..-.: . 

247. Green-winged Teal. 

248. Blue-winged Teal.. 

249. Shoveller 

250. Pintail 



251. Wood Duck. 



252. Redhead 

253. Canvas-back 

254. American Scaup Duck... 

255. Lesser Scaup Duck 

256. Ring-necked Duck 

257. American Golden-eye.. 

258. Barrow's Golden-eye... 

259. Buffle-head 

26C. Old-squaw 



261. American Eider.. .. 

262. American Scoter 

263. White-winged Scoter. 

264. Surf Scoter 





X* 


X 
X 


X 






X 


? 


X* 
X* 


X 


? 






X 


X* 
X 




? 




X 


X 


X 
X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 


X* 

X* 
X 

X 

X 
X 
X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 


X 
X 


X 
X 


X 


X* 


? 


X 








X 
X* 


X 

X* 

X 

X 

X 

X 


X 

X* 

X 

X 

X 

X 










X 


X 




X 






X 


X 

X* 

X* 
X* 


orX 
orx 
orX 


? 



Aug. to April. 

May to Sept. 

Found throughout 
year, but does not 
breed here ? 
j Usually rare. May to 
\ July or later. 
\ Late summer or 
) early autumn. 

July and Aug. 

May to Sept. 



One instance; Smith- 
sonian grounds, 
Aug., 1901. 
Several records in 
1 July. 

One record, about 
< 1817. Liable to oc- 
( cur in spring. 
Sept. to March. 

j Sept. to March or 
\ later. 

Oct. to April. 

Oct. to April. 

Aug. to April. 
iTworecords: spring 
| and fall. 

Oct. to April. 
j One instance: April, 
"j 1885. 

Sept. to April or May. 

Sept. to June. 
J Sept. to March or 
"j April. 

Oct. to April. 

Rare in summer; 
less so in spring 
and fall. 

Oct. to May. 

Oct. to April. 

Oct. to March. 

Oct. to April. 

Sept. to April. 

Oct. to April. 

Two instances ? 

Sept. to April. 
1 Uncommon. Oct. to 
I April. 

1 One instance long 
u ago. 

Oct. and Nov. 



* Rare at this season. 



1 86 BIRDS IA T THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 





5 


e<3 

£ 

I 


8 

~ s 
is e 


8 

ft? 

5 




1 






265. 


Ruddy Duck 




X 


X 

X* 
X* 

X 
X 

X 

X 
X 

? 

X* 

X 

X 


X* 
X* 

? 

X 

X* 
X 
X* 
? 
X 
X 


orx 

X 
? 
? 

X 

X* 
X 

X 

X 
X 

X 




Sept. to April. 


26G 


Canada Goose 


j Oct. to probably 
\ April. 


067 


Brant 


268. 


Whistling Swan 


Oct. to March or April. 


269. 
270. 

271. 

070 


American White Pelican. 

Double-crested Cormc- \ 
rant S 

Audubon's Shearwater. . . 

Leach's Petrel 


j Casual in spring and 
| autumn, 
j April; July; proba- 
{ bly also in autumn, 
j Two or three in- 
{ stances. 
Several instances. 


073 


Hawaiian Petrel 


l ( Two specimens (hur- 
J ricane of Aug. 29, 


274. 


Wilson's Petrel 


X 

X 
X 

X 
X 


( I8yy). 

} One instance, many 
years ago (about 
( 1859). 

j One instance, long 
"j ago (Sept. 8, 1858). 

Oct. to March. 
j Oct. to Nov. and Feb. 
"j to early April, 
j In Sept. Very few 
"j records. 
I Oct. to Nov. and 
) March to May. 
( Late summer and 
early autumn. No 
( recent records. 
( In one instance, after 
\ hurricane of Sept. 
( 29, 1896. 

j In late summer or 
1 early autumn. 

Spring and autumn. 


275. 
276. 

277 


Black Skimmer 

American Herring Gull. . . 
Ring billed Gull 


078 


Laughing Gull 


279. 

280. 


Bonaparte's Gull 

Gull-billed Tern 


081 


Caspian Tern 


9 so 


Forster's Tern 


088 


Common Tern 


284. 




Spring and autumn. 


085 


Black Tern 


f Common in early au- 
j tumn (Aug. and 
Sept.). Rare or 
L wanting in spring. 
1 Several specimens 
J late in Dec. ,1896. No 
( other records here. 
( Sept. to April. Less 
< common in mid- 


286. 

087 


• 
Briinnich's Murre 

Loon 


288. 
089 


Red-throated Loon 

Holbcell's Grebe 


( winter. 

( Very few records; all 

] in late autumn or 

( early winter. 

\ Sept. to Nov. Possi- 

< bly through winter 

( to April. 

Oct. tO May. ) Less 

(common in 

\ug.toMay.f midwillte *- 


0% 


Horned Grebe 


291. 


Pied-billed Grebe 



* Rare at this season. 



HOW TO ATTRACT BIRDS TO HOUSES. 

There are several ways in which we may attract 
birds to our country and suburban homes. One of 
these is by providing suitable nesting places for them. 
Fruit trees, shrubs, evergreens and thickets will fur- 
nish shelter and nesting sites for many species, while 
the Wren, Bluebird and Martin like a hanging gourd, 
or a covered box w T ith a hole cut in it, which may be 
set up on a post or nailed against a tree. Care should 
be taken that the front of the box is flat, with no 
place for Sparrows to light; the wild birds will fly 
straight into the hole, but English Sparrows must 
first perch near it. 

Another way to bring the birds is by furnishing 
food for them. They particularly like raspberries, 
mulberries, wild cherries and small wild grapes; also 
the berries that grow on shrubs of various kinds. Of 
the latter the fruit of the common wild Cornel (Cornus 
circinata) is a great favorite. This handsome shrub 
has small blue berries growing in flat clusters and 
when they are ripe the bushes will be full of birds of 
many kinds, as this fruit is liked by all species not 
purely insectivorous. The fruit of the shrub Hercules 
Club (Aralia spiuosa) is another favorite. Sunflower 
and Cornflower (Ccntaurca) seeds, the seeds of millet 
and other grasses will also attract birds in late sum- 
mer and autumn. Then in winter our permanent resi- 
dents and northern visitors will appreciate bread 



1 88 HOW TO ATTRACT BIRDS TO HOUSES 

crumbs and uncooked breakfast cereals scattered on 
porches or placed in shallow boxes; some species are 
partial to buckwheat. Almost all winter birds will eat 
suet, pieces of which may be nailed against trees or 
posts. 

The best way of all to bring summer birds is by sup- 
plying them with fresh water, which should be put in 
shallow dishes placed on the ground. Mr. Ridgwav 
says that in forty-eight hours after he has prepared 
drinking and bathing places for them he believes all 
the birds within a radius of half a mile know of it. He 
also says that at times they come in such numbers that 
they fight for place at the dishes. As showing the 
results of systematic and continued kindness to our 
wild birds, on Mr. Ridgway's place at Brookland 
(comprising less than half an acre) he last summer 
counted twenty-seven species in half an hour, and 
while watering his ferns with a garden hose a Mag- 
nolia Warbler flew into the spray. 

In trying to attract the songsters one must not 
neglect to exclude, as far as possible, cats and English 
Sparrows. Ways of discouraging the latter are given 
on page 97. 



LOCAL LISTS 



189 



BIRDS THAT MAY BE SEEN IN WINTER. 



Bluebird 

American Robin* 
Hermit Thrush* 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet* 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 
Carolina Chickadee 
Chickadee* 
Tufted Titmouse 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 
White-breasted Nuthatch 
.Brown Creeper 
Winter Wren 
Carolina Wren 
Mockingbird* 
American Pipit* 
Myrtle Warbler* 
Loggerhead Shrike* 
Northern Shrike* 
Cedar Waxwing* 
Cardinal 

Towhee; Chewink* 
Fox Sparrow* 
Swamp Sparrow* 
Song Sparrow 
Slate-colored Junco 
Field Sparrow 
Chipping Sparrow* 
Tree Sparrow 
White-throated Sparrow 
Savanna Sparrow 
Vesper Sparrow* 
Pine Siskin* 
American Goldfinch 
American Crossbill 
Purple Finch* 
Purple Grackle* 
Rusty Blackbird 



Meadowlark 

Red-winged Blackbird 

Cowbird* 

Fish Crow 

American Crow 

Blue Jay* 

Prairie Horned Lark* 

Horned Lark 

Phoebe* 

Flicker* 

Red-bellied Woodpecker 

Red-headed Woodpecker* 

Pileated Woodpecker* 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker* 

Downy Woodpecker 

Hairy Woodpecker* 

Belted Kingfisher* 

Great Horned Owl 

Screech Owl 

Saw-whet Owl* 

Barred Owl 

Short-eared Owl 

American Long-eared Owl 

American Barn Owl 

Sparrow Hawk 

Bald Eagle 

Broad-winged Hawk* 

Red-shouldered Hawk 

Red-tailed Hawk 

Cooper's Hawk 

Sharp-shinned Hawk 

Marsh Hawk 

Turkey Vulture; Buzzard 

Mourning Dove* 

Wild Turkey* 

Ruffed Grouse* 

Bob-white 



* Rare. 



190 



LOCAL LISTS 



BIRDS THAT NEST WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. 



(Furnished by 

Robin 

Song Sparrow 
Catbird 

Wood Thrush*, 
Cardinal Grosbeak 
Chipping Sparrow 
House Wren 
Bluebird 
Orchard Oriole 
Baltimore Oriole 
Red-headed Woodpecker 
Carolina Chickadee 
Barn Owl 



Dr. A. K. Fisher.) 

Long-billed Marsh Wren 
Yellow Warbler 
Rough-winged Swallow 
Cedar Waxwing 
Red-eyed Vireo 
Yellow-throated Vireo 
Warbling Vireo 
Nighthawk 
Chimney Swift 
Hummingbird 
Fish Crow 
Purple Grackle 
Tufted Titmouse 



ADDITIONAL SPECIES BREEDING IN 
BROOKLAND 



Brown Thrasher 
Towhee; Chewink 
Field Sparrow 
Carolina Wren 
Prairie Warbler 
Redstart 
Oven-bird 

Yellow-breasted Chat 
White-eyed Vireo 



(Furnished by Mr. Robert Ridgway.) 

American Crow 
Wood Pewee 



Summer Tanager 

Indigo-bird 

Goldfinch 

Great Crested Flycatcher 

Flicker 

Maryland Yellow-throat 



* In the summer of 1901 a pair of Wood Thrushes built 
in the square bounded by V and W, Twelfth and Thirteenth 

Streets. 



LOCAL LISTS 



I 9 I 



SPRING LIST. 

Birds seen at Field Meeting of Audubon Society, Forest 
Glen, Md., May 11, 1901. 



Bluebird . 

Robin 

Wood Thrush 

Wilson's Thrush; Veery 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 

White-breasted Nuthatch 

Tufted Tit 

Carolina Chickadee 

Catbird 

Brown Thrasher 

Carolina Wren 

House Wren 

Black-and-white Warbler 

Parula Warbler 

Yellow Warbler 

Black-throated Blue Warber 

Myrtle Warbler 

Chestnut-sided Warbler 

Blackburn ian Warbler 



Grasshopper Sparrow 

White-throated Sparrow 

Chipping Sparrow 

Field Sparrow 

Song Sparrow 

Swamp Sparrow. 

Chewink 

Cardinal 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 

Indigo Bunting. 

Bobolink 

Red-winged Blackbird 

Meadowlark 

Baltimore Oriole 

Orchard Oriole 

Purple Grackle 

Blue Jay 

Crow 

Fish Crow 



Black-throated Green Warbler Kingbird 



Prairie Warbler 
Oven-bird 

Maryland Yellow-throat 
Yellow-breasted Chat 
Redstart 
Red-eyed Vireo 
Yellow-throated Vireo 
White-eyed Vireo 
Barn Swallow 
Scarlet Tanager 
Summer Tanager 
Goldfinch 



Great-crested Flycatcher 

Phcebe 

Wood Pewee 

Acadian Flycatcher 

Chimney Swift 

Downy Woodpecker 

Red-headed Woodpecker 

Flicker 

Turkey Vulture 

Solitary Sandpiper 

Little Green Heron 



192 



LOCAL LISTS 



SUMMER LIST. 

Birds seen by Henry W. Maynard at Rockville, Md. 3 

Early morning. 

Song Sparrow 



June 



23, 1901. 

Bluebird 
Robin 

Wood Thrush 
White-breasted Nuthatch 
Tufted Titmouse 
Carolina Chickadee 
Catbird 

Brown Thrasher 
Carolina Wren 
House Wren 
Black-and-white Warbler 
Worm -eating Warbler 
Parula Warbler 
Prairie Warbler 
Oven-bird 

Louisiana Water-thrush 
Kentucky Warbler 
Maryland Yellow-throat 
Yellow-breasted Chat 
Red-eyed Vireo 
Yellow-throated Vireo 
White-eyed Vireo 
Scarlet Tanager 
Goldfinch 

Grasshopper Sparrow 
Henslow's Sparrow 
Chipping Sparrow 
Field Sparrow 



Chewink 

Cardinal 

Indigo Bunting 

Cowbird 

Red-winged Blackbird 

Meadowlark 

Baltimore Oriole 

Orchard Oriole 

Purple Grackle 

Blue Jay 

Crow 

Kingbird 

Phoebe 

Wood Pewee 

Great-crested Flycatcher 

Acadian Flycatcher 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 

Chimney Swift 

Red-headed Woodpecker 

Flicker 

Turkey Vulture 

Mourning Dove 

Bob- white 

Killdeer 

Spotted Sandpiper 

Wood Duck 



AUTUMN LIST. 

Birds seen by Mr. William Palmer at Kensington, Md. 
September 15, 1895. 



Wilson's Thrush 
Gray-cheeked Thrush 
Tufted Titmouse 



Chickadee 

Catbird 

Black and White Creeper 



LOCAL LISTS 



193 



Tennessee Warbler 
Parula Warbler 
Magnolia Warbler 
Black-poll Warbler 
Black-throated Green 
Pine Warbler 
Oven-bird 
Water-Thrush 
Redstart 

Philadelphia Vireo 
Goldfinch 
Cardinal 



Indigo-bird 
American Crow 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 
Chimney Swift 
Warbler Whip-poor-will 
Nighthawk 
Downy Woodpecker 
Red-headed Woodpecker 
Flicker 

Sharp-shinned Hawk 
Turkey Buzzard 
Maryland Yellow-throat 



WINTER LIST. 

Birds seen by Henry W. Maynard, Chevy Chase to Zoolog- 
ical Park along Broad Branch Road, February 9, 
1902, 12.00-2.00 P. M. 



Golden-crowned Kinglet 
White-breasted Nuthatch 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 
Tufted Titmouse 
Carolina Chickadee 
Brown Creeper 
Brown Thrasher 
Carolina Wren 
Winter Wren 
Myrtle Warbler 
Goldfinch 
White-throated Sparrow 



Chipping Sparrow 
Field Sparrow 
Slate-colored Junco 
Song Sparrow 
Cardinal 
Meadowlark 
Blue Jay 
Crow 
Fish Crow 
Horned Lark 
Downy Woodpecker 
Turkey Vulture 



13 



OBSERVATION OUTLINE 

ABRIDGED FROM 

" BIRDS OF VILLAGE AND FIELD 

BY 

FLORENCE A. MERRIAM. 
By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co! 



POINTS TO NOTE TO ASSIST IN IDENTIFICATION. 

t, t Common. ^ , 

Name n . . n Date, 

Scientific. 

I. Size (compared with English Sparrow, Robin, Crow). 

II. Colors. Bright— Dull. 

III. Markings. 

i. Top of Head. 

2. Back. 

3. Breast. 

4. Wings. 

5. Tail. 

IV. Shape, 

1. Body. — Long and slender — Short and stocky. 

2. Bill.— Short and stout— Long and slender— Long 

and heavy — Hooked — Curved. 

3. Wings.— Short and round— Long and slender. 

4. Tail.— Forked— Notched— Square— Fan-shaped. 



OBSER VA TION O UTLINE 1 9 5 

V. "Movements — Hop — Walk — Creep up trees — Bob head 

and wag tail — Twitch tail from side to side. 

VI. Flight. 

1. Fast. — Direct — Abrupt and zigzag — Smooth and 

circling. 

2. Slow. — Flapping — Sailing or soaring — Flapping 

and sailing alternately. 

VII. Localities frequented — Gardens — Orchards — Road- 

side fences — Meadows — Thickets — Woods — Riv- 
ers — Lakes — Marshes. 

VIII. Food and manner of obtaining it. 



IX. Song. 

i. Manner and time of singing. — From perch — In 
the air. 

2. Character of song. — Plaintive — Happy — Long — 

Short. 

3. Call notes. — Signal — Warning — Anger — Fear — 

Pain — Protest. 

X. Habits. 

1. Go IN FLOCKS. 

2. Form roosts. — Winter — Summer — Migration. 

3. Perform curious actions during courtship. — 

Dances — Aerial evolutions. 

XI. Nest. 

1. Location. — In or on the ground — In tree trunks — 

On branches — Hanging from branches. 

2. Size (compared with Hummingbird, Robin, Crow). 

3. Shape. — Cup — Pocket — Basket — Wall-pocket — 

Oven — Gourd. 

4. Materials. — Clay — Grass — Rootlets — Leaves — 

Twigs — Hair — Fur — Feathers. 



1 96 OBSER VA TION O UTLINE 

5. Method of construction. — Excavated — Woven — 

Plastered. 

6. Number of days required. 

7. Habits of male during nest-building. — Works 

with female — Works alone — Sings while female 
works — Brings material to female — Absents him- 
self from nest. 

XII. Eggs. 

1. Number. 

2. Color. 

3. Markings. 



XHI. Incubation. 

1. Length of incubation. 

2. Habits of male during time. — Takes place of 

female on nest — Feeds female on nest. 

XIV. Young. 

1. In nest. 

Position of feather tracts. 
Times when eyes open. 
Time spent in nest. 

2. Cared for by parents. — Food brought in bill — 

Food regurgitated. 

3. Condition on leaving nest. . 

4. Notes and actions of young. 

5. Nestling plumage. 



CLASSIFICATION. 

Our birds are embraced in the following Orders and Families. 
I. ORDER OF PERCHING BIRDS (Passeres). 



1. Family of Thrushes 

(Turdidae) 
Bluebird 
American Robin 
Wood Thrush 
Wilson's Thrush; Veery 
Gray-cheeked Thrush 
Olive-backed Thrush 
Hermit Thrush 

2. Family of Kinglets and 

Gnatcatchers (Sylviidae). 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 

3. Family of Nuthatches and 

Tits (Paridse). 
White-breasted Nuthatch 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 
Tufted Titmouse 
Chickadee 

4. Family of Thrashers and 

Wrens (Troglodytidse). 
Brown Thrasher 
Mockingbird 
Catbird 
Carolina Wren 
House Wren 
Long-billed Marsh Wren 

5. Family of Warblers 

(Mniotiltidce). 

Black and White Warbler 
Worm-eating Warbler 
Blue-winged Warbler 



Parula Warbler 
Yellow Warbler 
Yellow-throated Warbler 
Pine Warbler 
Prairie Warbler 
Oven-bird: Golden-crowned 

Thrush 
Louisiana Water Thrush 
Kentucky Warbler 
Maryland Yellow-throat 
Yellow-breasted Chat 
American Redstart 

6. Family of Vireos 

(Vireonidae) 
Red-eyed Vireo 
Warbling Vireo 
Yellow-throated Vireo 
White-eyed Vireo 

7. Family of Waxwings 

(Ampelidse). 
Cedar Waxwing 

8. Family of Swallows 

(Hirundinidae) 
Purple Martin 
Barn Swallow 
Eave Swallow 
Bank Swallow 
Rough-winged Swallow 

9. Family of Tanagers 

(Tanagridae). 
Scarlet Tanager 
Summer Tanager 



198 



CLASSIFICA TION 



10. Family of Sparrows 

(Fringillidse). 
American Goldfinch 
Vesper Sparrow 
Grasshopper Sparrow 
Henslow's Sparrow 
Chipping Sparrow 
Field Sparrow 
Song Sparrow 
Chewink; Towhee 
Cardinal 
Blue Grosbeak 
Indigo Bunting 
English Sparrow 

11. Family of Blackbirds and 

Orioles (Icteridse). 
Bobolink; Reedbird 
Cowbird 



Red-winged Blackbird 
Meadowlark 
Orchard Oriole 
Baltimore Oriole 
Purple Grackle 

12. Family of Crows and Jays 

(Corvidse). 
American Crow 
Fish Crow 
Blue Jay 

13. Family of Flycatchers 

(Tyrannidae). 
Kingbird 

Great Crested Flycatcher 
Phoebe 
Wood Pewee 
Acadian Flycatcher 



II. ORDER OF GOATSUCKERS, ETC. (Macrochires). 



I. Family of Swifts 

(Micropodidae). 
Chimney Swifts 

2. Family of Hummingbirds 
(Trochilidse). 



3. Family of Goatsuckers 
(Caprimulgidse). 
Whip-poor-will 
Nighthawk 



Ruby-throated Hummingbird 



III. ORDER OF WOODPECKERS, ETC. (Pici). 



Family of Woodpeckers 
(Picidse). 
Downy Woodpecker 
Hairy Woodpecker 



Red-headed Woodpecker 
Pileated Woodpecker 
Red-bellied Woodpecker 
Flicker 



IV. ORDER OF CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. 
(Coccyges). 



Family of Kingfishers 

(Alcedinidse). 

Belted Kingfisher 



Family of Cuckoos 
(Cuculidae). 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 
Black-billed Cuckoo 



CLASSIFICA TION 



I 99 



V. ORDER OF BIRDS OF PREY (Raptores). 



1. Family of Barn Owls 

(Strigidse). 
American Barn Owl 

2. Family of Horned Owls, etc. 

(Bubonidae). 
American Long-eared Owl 
Barred Owl; Hoot Owl 
Screech Owl 
Great Horned Owl 

3. Family of Hawks and Eagles 

(Falconidse). 



Sharp-shinned Hawk 
Cooper's Hawk 
Red-tailed Hawk 
Red-shouldered Hawk 
Broad-winged Hawk 
Sparrow Hawk 
Marsh Hawk 
Fish Hawk 
Bald Eagle 

Family of American Vultures 
(Cathartidse). 
Buzzard; Turkev Vulture 



VI. ORDER OF PIGEONS AND DOVES (Columbse). 

1. Family Columbidae 

Mourning Dove; Turtle Dove 



VII. ORDER OF GALLINACEOUS BIRDS (Gallinse). 



1. Family of Grouse, Bob-whites, 2. 
etc. (Tetraonidse). 
Bob-white; Quail 
Ruffed Grouse 
Wild Turkey 



Family of Pheasants 
(Phasianidse). 
Wild Turkey 



VIII. ORDER OF SHORE BIRDS (Limicolae). 



1. Family of Snipes 
(Scolopacidae). 
American Woodcock 
Spotted Sandpiper 



2. Family of Plovers 
(Charadriidae). 
Killdeer 



IX. ORDER OF MARSH BIRDS (Paludicolse). 
(Rallidse). 



I. Family of Rails 
King Rail 
Virginia Rail 



200 



CLASSIFICA TION 



X. ORDER OF SWAMP BIRDS (Herodiones). 



Family of Herons 
(Ardeidas). 
Green Heron 



Great Blue Heron 
Black-crowned Night Heron 
Least Bittern 



XL ORDER OF SWIMMING BIRDS (Anseres). 



Family of Ducks, Geese and 
Swans (Anatidae). 
Wood Duck 
Mallard 

Shoveller; Spoonbill 
Scaup Duck 
Whistler; Golden-eye 
Buffle-head; Butter-ball 
American Merganser 



Red-breasted Merganser 
Green-winged Teal 
Blue-winged Teal 
Pintail 
Red-head 
Canvas-back 
Ring-necked Duck 
Ruddy Duck 
Canada Goose 



XII. ORDER 



OF LONG-WINGED 
(Longipennes). 



SWIMMERS 



I. Family of Gulls and Terns 
(Laridae). 

American Herring Gull; Sea 
Gull. 



Ring-billed Gull 
Bonaparte's Gull 
Black Tern. 



XIII. ORDER OF DIVING BIRDS (Pygopodes). 

Family of Grebes 
(Podicipidae). 
Horned Grebe 
Pied-billed Grebe 



2. Family of Loons 
(Urinatoridae). 
Loon. 



LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS AND 
EGGS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



[Act of March 3, 1901 — 31 Statutes at Large, 1091.] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled * * * 
Section 3. That for the purposes of this Act the follow- 
ing only shall be considered game birds: The Anatidse, com- 
monly known as swans, geese, brant, river and sea ducks; 
the Rallidse, commonly known as rails, coots, mud hens, 
and gallinules; the Limicolse, commonly known as shore 
birds, plovers, surf birds, snipe, woodcock, sandpipers, tat- 
tlers, and curlews; the Gallinse, commonly known as wild 
turkeys, grouse, prairie chickens, pheasants, partridges, and 
quails, and the species of Icteridse, commonly known as 
marsh blackbirds and reed birds or rice birds. 

That no person shall kill, catch, expose for sale, or have 
in his or her possession, living or dead, any wild bird other 
than a game bird, English sparrow, crow, Cooper's hawk, 
sharpshinned hawk, or great horned owl; nor rob the nest of 
any such wild bird of eggs or young; nor destroy such nest 
except in the clearing of land of trees or brush, under a pen- 
alty of five dollars for every such bird killed, caught, exposed 
for sale, or had in his or her possession, either dead or alive, 
and for each nest destroyed, and in default thereof to be im- 
prisoned in the workhouse for a period not exceeding thirty 
days: Provided, That this section shall not apply to birds or 
eggs collected for scientific purposes under permits issued by 
the superintendent of police of the District of Columbia in 
accordance with such instructions as the secretary of the 
Smithsonian Institution may prescribe, such permits to be in 
force for one year from date of issue and non-transferable. 



202 LA W FOR PROTECTION OF BIRDS AND EGGS 

That no person shall trap, net, or ensnare any waterfowl 
or other wild bird (except the English sparrow), or have 
in his or her possession any trap, snare, net, or illuminat- 
ing device for the purpose of killing or capturing, any such 
bird, under a penalty of five dollars for each waterfowl or 
other wild bird (except the English sparrow) killed or cap- 
tured, and in default thereof to be imprisoned in the work- 
house not exceeding thirty days: Provided, That this Act 
shall not apply to birds, or animals heretofore stuffed or to 
birds or animals hereafter killed in open season and subse- 
quently stuffed. 

Section i, which relates to game birds, prescribes the 
following close seasons and penalties: 
Close Seasons. 
Ruffed grouse or pheasant, wild turkey . . . Dec. 26— Nov. 1* 



Woodcock 

Rail or ortolan, reed bird, marsh blackbird 

Partridge or quail 

Prairie chicken or pinnated grouse . 

Wild duck, wild goose, brant, snipe, or plover 



Jan. 1— July 1 
Feb. 1-Sept. 1 
Mar. 15 -Nov. 1 
Mar. 15-Sept. 1 
April 1-Sept.l 



*The open seasons may be found by reading these dates backward. 

Penalties: For each ruffed grouse, wild turkey, woodcock, 
quail, prairie chicken, wild duck, wild goose, brant, snipe, 
or plover, killed, exposed for sale, or had in possession dead 
or alive, during the close season, a fine of $5, or imprison- 
ment 30 days to 6 months; for each rail, reed bird, or marsh 
blackbird, a fine of $2, or imprisonment 15 days to 6 months. 



INDEX 



About Birds in General 21 
Acadian Flycatcher 116 
Accipiter 

cooperii 110 

velox 138 
Actitis macularia 152 
JEgialitis vocifera 152 
Agelaius phoeniceus 100 
Aix sponsa 155 
Alder Flycatcher 169 
Ammodramus 

henslowii 89 

sandwichensis savanna 166 

savannarum passerinus 89 
Ampelis cedrorum 76 
Anas 

boschas 173 

carolinensis 173 

discors 174 
Anorthura hiemalis 160 
Anthus pensilvanicus 161 
Antrostomus vociferus 119 
Ardea 

herodias 154 

virescens 153 
Ardetta exilis 154 
Arkansas Kingbird 182 
Asio 

accipitrinus 170 

wilsoniamis 133 
Astragalinus tristis 86 
Audubon's Shearwater 186 
Aythya 

americana 174 

collaris 175 

marila 174 

vallisneria 174 

Bachman's Sparrow 181 
Bailey, Florence Merriam. Intro- 
duction 11 
Baird's Sandpiper 184 
Bald Eagie 147 
Baldpate 185 
Baltimore Oriole 103 
Bank Swallow 82 
Barn Owl, American 132 
Barn Swallow 80 
Barred Owl 134 
Barrow's Golden-eye 185 
Bartramia longicauda 172 
Bartramian Sandpiper 172 
Bav-breasted Warbler 163 
Belted Kingfisher 128 



Belted Piping Plover 183 
Bewick's Wren 160 
Bicknell's Thrush 178 
Birds found in District of Columbia 
178 

migration of 156 

of garden and orchard 19 

of meadow and wild field 19 

of roadside and fences 19 

of the woods 19 

seen in winter 189 

size of 20 

that show white in flving 19 
Bittern 

American 173 

Least 154 
Black and White Warbler 59 
Black and Yellow Warbler (see Mag- 
nolia Warbler) 
Black-billed Cuckoo 131 
Blackbird 

Crow 105 

Marsh 100 

Red-winged 100 

Rusty 169 

Yellow-headed 181 
Blackburnian Warbler 163 
Black-crowned Night Heron 155 
Black Duck 185 
Black-poll Warbler 163 
Black Rail 184 
Black Skimmer 186 
Black Tern 176 

Black-throated Blue Warbler 162 
Black-throated Bunting 168 
Black-throated Green Warbler 163 
Black Vulture 183 
Bluebird 41 
Blue Canary 96 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 45 
Blue Grosbeak 95 
Blue-headed. Yireo 165 
Blue Jav 108 
Blue-winged Teal 174 
Blue-winged Warbler 60 
Bobolink 169 
Bob-white 149 
Bonaparte's Gull 176 
Bonasa umbellus 150 
Botarus lentiginosus 173 
Brant 186 

Branta canadensis 175 
Brewster's Warbler 179 
Broad-winged Hawk 143 



204 



INDEX 



Bronzed Grackle 182 
Brown Creeper 160 
Brown Thrasher 49 
Brown Thrush 49 
Briinnich's Murre 186 
Bubo virginianus 136 
Buffle-head 175 
Bull Bat 120 
Bunting 1 

Black-throated 168 

Indigo (Indigo-bird) 96 
Buteo 

borealis 142 

platypterus 143 

lineatus 142 
Butter-ball 175 
Buzzard 14S 

Canada Goose 175 
Canadian Warbler 165 
Canary 

Wild 87 

Blue 96 
Canvas-back 174 
Cape May Warbler 161 
Cardinal 94 

Cardinalis cardinalis 94 
Carolina Chickadee 47 
Carolina Paroquet 182 
Carolina Wren 53 
Carpodacus purpureus 166 
Caspian Tern 186 
Catbird 52 
Cathartes aura 148 
Cedar Waxwing 76 
Ceophlceus pileatus 125 
Certhia familiaris americana 160 
Cerulean Warbler 179 
Ceryle alcyon 128 
Chsetura pelagica 117 
Chapman, Frank M., Field Key 25 
Charitonetta albeola 175 
Chat, Yellow-breasted 69 
Chebec 169 

Chestnut-sided W T arbler 162 
Chewink (Towhee) 93 
Chickadee 178 
Chickadee, Carolina 47 
Chicken Hawk 140 
Chimnev Swallow 117 
Chimney Swift 117 
Chipping Sparrow 90 
Chippy, Winter 167 
Chordeiles virginianus 120 
Circus hudsonius 146 
Cistothorus palustris 56 
Clangula clangula americana 175 
Clapper Rail 184 
Classification 197 
Cliff Swallow 81 
Clivicola riparia 82 
Coccyzus 

americanus 130 

erythrophthalmus 131 
Cock-of-the- Woods 125 



Colaptes auratus 127 
Colinus virginianus 149 
Colymbus auritus 177 
Common Tern 186 
Compsothlypis americana 61 
Connecticut Warbler 164 
Contopus virens 115 
Cooper's Hawk 140 
Coot, American 172 
Cormorant, Double-crested 186 
Corvus 

americanus 106 

ossifragus 107 
Cowbird 98 
Crane, Sandhill 184 
Creeper, Brown 160 
Crested Flycatcher (Great Crested) 

112 
Crossbill 

American 166 

White-winged 180 
Crow 

American 106 

Fish 107 
Crow Blackbird 105 
Cuckoo 

Black-billed 131 

Yellow-billed 130 
Curlew, Long-billed 184 
Cyanocitta cristata 108 
Cyanospiza Cyanea 96 

Dafila acuta 174 
Dendroica 

aestiva 61 

blackburniae 163 

caerulescens 162 

castanea 162 

coronata 162 

discolor 63 

dominica 62 

maculosa 162 

palmarum 164 

palmarum hypochrysea 164 

pensylvanica 162 

striata 163 

tigrina 161 

vigorsii 63 

virens 163 
Dickcissel 168 
Dipper 177 

Dolichonyx oryzivorus 169 
Double-crested Cormorant 186 
Dove 

Ground 183 

Mourning 148 

Turtle 148 
Dowitcher 184 

Long-billed 184 
Downy Woodpecker 122 
Dryobates 

pubescens 122 

villosus 122 
Duck 

American Scaup 174 



INDEX 



205 



Duck 

Black 185 
•Fish 173 

Lesser Scaup 185 

Ringed-necked 175 

Ruddv 175 

Wood 155 
Duck Hawk 183 

Eagle 

Bald 147 

Golden 183 
Eave Swallow 81 
Egret, American 185 
Eider, American 185 
Empidonax 

flaviventris 169 

minimus 169 

traillii alnorum 169 

virescens 116 
English Sparrow 96 
Erismatura jamaicensis 175 
European Teal 185 

Falco 

columbarius 170 

sparverius 145 
Field Key (F. M. Chapman) 25 
Field Sparrow 91 
Finches 86 
Finch 

Grass 88 

Purple 166 
Fish Crow 107 
' Fish Duck 173 
Fish Hawk 146 
Flicker 127 
Flycatchers 110 
Flycatcher 

Acadian 116 

Alder 169 

Great-crested 112 

Green-crested 116 

Least 169 

Olive-sided 182 

Scissor-tailed 182 

Yellow-bellied 169 
Fly-up-the-Creek 153 
Florida Gallinule 184 
Forster's Tern 186 
Fox Sparrow 167 
Fresh-water Marsh Hen 153 
Fulica americana 172 

Gadwall 185 

Galeoscoptes carolinensis 52 
Galiinago delicata 171 
Gallinule, Florida 184 
Game Law of D. C. 201 
Gavia imber 176 
Geothlypis 

agilis 164 

formosa 66 

Philadelphia 164 

trichas 68 



Glossy Ibis 185 
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 45 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 160 
Golden-crowned Thrush t>4 
Golden Eagle 183 
Golden-eye 

American 175 
Golden-eye 

Barrow's 185 
Golden Warbler (see Yellow Warb- 
ler) 
Golden-winged Warbler 161 
Goldfinch, American 86 
Goose 

Canada 175 

Wild 175 
Goosander 173 
Goshawk, American 183 
Grackle 

Bronzed 182 

Purple 105 
Grass Finch 88 
Grasshopper Sparrow 89 
Gray-cheeked Thrush 159 
Great Blue Heron 154 
Great Crested Flycatcher 112 
Greater Yellow-legs 171 
Great Horned Owl 136 
Grebe 

Holboell's 186 

Horned 177 

Pied-billed 177 
Green-crested Flycatcher 116 
Green Heron 153* 
Greenlets 71 
Green-winged Teal 173 
Grinnell's Water-Thrush 180 
Grosbeaks 86 
Grosbeak 

Blue 95 

Cardinal 94 

Pine 180 

Rose-breasted 168 
Ground Dove 183 
Ground Robin 94 
Grouse, Ruffed 150 
Guiraca caerulea 95 
Gull 

American Herring 176 

Bonaparte's 176 

Laughing 186 

Ring-billed 176 

Sea 176 
Gull-billed Tern 186 

Habia ludoviciana 168 

Hairbird 90 

Hairy Woodpecker 122 

Haliaeetus leucocephalus 147 

Harporhynchus rufus 49 

Harrier 146 

Hawaiian Petrel 186 

Hawks 137 

Hawk 

American Rough-legged 183 



206 



INDEX 



Hawk 

Broad-winced 143 

Cooper's (Chicken Hawk; 140 

Duck 183 

Fish 146 

Marsh 146 

Pigeon 170 

Red-shouldered 142 

Red-tailed 142 

Sharp-shinned 138 

Sparrow 144 
Helminthophila 

chrysoptera 161 

peregrina 161 

pirms 60 

rubricapilla 161 
Helmitherus vermivorus 59 
Helodromas solitarius 172 
Henslow's Sparrow 89 
Hermit Thrush 159 
Heron 

Black-crowned Night 155 

Great Blue 154 

Little Blue 185 

Green 153 

Snowy 185 

Yellow-crowned Night 185 
Hick-up Bird 116 
Hirundo ervthrogastra 80 
Holboell's Grebe 186 
Hooded Merganser 185 
Hooded Warbler 164 
Hoot Owl 134 
Horned Grebe 177 
Horned Lark 169 

Prairie 182 
House Sparrow 96 
House Wren 55 

How to Attract Birds to Houses 187 
Hummingbird, Ruby- throated 118 
Hvdrochelidon nigra surinamensis 
176 

Ibis 

Glossv 185 

Wood 185 
Icteria virens 69 
Icterus 

galbula 103 

spurius 104 
Indian Hen 173 
Indigo Bunting (Indigo-bird) 96 

Jay, Blue 108 
Junco 

Shufeldt's 181 

Slate-colored 167 
Junco hyemalis 167 

Kentucky Warbler 66 
Killdeer 152 

Kingbird 111 

Arkansas 182 
Kingfisher, Belted 128 



Kinglet 

Golden-crowned 160 

Rubv-crowned 159 
King Rail 153 
Kirtland's Warbler 179 
Kite, Swallow-tailed 183 

Lanius ludovicianus migrans 165 

Lapland Longspur 180 

Lark 

Horned 169 

Prairie Horned 182 

Shore (Horned Lark) 169 
Lark Sparrow 181 
Larus 

argentatus smithsonianus 176 

delawarensis 176 

Philadelphia 176 
Laughing Gull 186 
Leach's Petrel 186 
Least Bittern 154 
Least Flycatcher 169 
Least Sandpiper 171 
Least Tern 186 
Lesser Scaup Duck 185 
Lincoln's Sparrow 167 
Little Blue Heron 185 
Local Lists 189 
Loggerhead Shrike (Migrant Shrike) 

180 
Long-billed Curlew 184 
Long-billed Dowitcher 184 
Long-billed Marsh Wren 56 
Long-eared Owl, American 133 
Longspur, Lapland 180 
Loon 176 

Red-throated 186 
Louisiana Water-Thrush 65 
Loxia curvirostra minor 166 

Maanolia Warbler 162 

Mallard 173 

Marsh Blackbird 100 

Marsh Hawk 146 

Marsh Robin 94 

Martin, Purple 78 

Maryland Yellow-throat 68 

Meadowlark 102 

Megaseops asio 135 

Melanerpes 

carolinus 125 

erythrocephalus 123 
Meleagris gallopayo 151 
Melospiza 

melodia 92 

georgiana 167 

lincolnii 167 
Merganser 

American 173 

Hooded 185 

Red-breasted 173 
Merganser 

americanus 173 

serrator 173 



INDEX 



207 



Merriam, Florence A. 

Observation Outline 194 
Morula migratoria 42 
Migrant Shrike (Loggerhead Shrike) 

165 
Migrants 159 
Migration of Birds 156 
Mimus polvglottos 50 
Mniotilta varia 59 
Mockingbird 50 
Mocking Wren 53 
Molothrus ater 98 
Monkey-faced Owl 132 
Mourning Dove 148 
Mourning Warbler 164 
Mud Hen 172 
Murre, Briinnich's 186 
Mviarchus crinitus 112 
Myrtle Warbler 162 

Nashville Warbler 161 
Nelson's Sparrow 181 
Nighthawk 120 
Northern Phalarope 184 
Northern Shrike 180 
Nuthatch 

Red-breasted 160 

White-breasted 48 
Nyctala acadica 170 
Nyctea nyctea 170 
Nycticorax nycticorax naevius 155 

Observation Outline 

Florence A. Merriam 192 
Old-squaw 185 
Olive-backed Thrush 159 
Olive-sided Flycatcher 182 
Orange-crowned Warbler 179 
Orchard Oriole 104 
Orders and Families 197 
Oriole 

Baltimore 103 

Orchard 104 
Ortolan 172 
Osnrey, American 146 
Otocoris alpestris 169 
Oven-bird 64 
Owls 132 
Owl 

American Barn 132 

American Long-eared 133 

Barred 134 

Great Horned 136 

Hoot 134 

Monkey-faced 132 

Saw-whet 170 

Screech 135 

Short-eared 170 

Snowy 170 

Palm Warbler 164 

Pandion haliaetus carolinensis 146 

Paroquet, Carolina 182 

Partridge 149 

Parula Warbler 61 



Parus bicolor 46 
Parus carolinensis 47 
Passenger Pigeon 183 
Passer domesticus 96 
Passarella iliaca 167 
Peabodv Bird 167 
Pectoral Sandpiper 171 
Pelican, American White 186 
Petrel 

Hawaiian 186 

Leach's 186 

Wilson's 186 
Petrochelidon lunifrons 81 
Pewee, Wood 115 
Phalarope 

Northern 184 

Red 184 
Philadelphia Vireo 165 
Philohela minor 151 
Phoebe 114 

Pied-billed Grebe 177 
Pigeon Hawk 170 
Pigeon, Passenger 183 
Pileated Woodpecker 125 
Pine Grosbrak 180 
Pine Siskin 166 
Pine Warbler 63 
Pintail 174 

PiDilo erythrophthalmus 93 
Pmit, American 161 
Piranga 

ervthromelas 84 

rubra 85 
Plover 

American Golden 183 

Belted Piping 183 

Semipalmated 183 

Upland 172 
Podilymbus podiceps 177 
Polioptila cserulea 45 
Poocsetes gramineus 88 
Porzana Carolina 172 
Prairie Horned Lark 182 
Prairie Warbler 63 
Progne subis 78 
Prothonotary Warbler 179 
Purple Finch 166 
Purple Grackle 105 
Purple Martin 78 

Ouail 149 

Quawk 155 

Ouiscalus quiscula 105 

Rail 

Black 184 

Clapper 184 

King 153 

Virginia 172 

Yellow 184 
Rain Crow 130 
Rallus 

elegans 153 

virginianus 172 
Red-backed Sandpiper 184 



208 



LXDEX 



Red-bellied Woodpecker 125 
Red-bird, Virginia 94 
Ked-breasted Mersranser 173 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 160 
Red-eyed Vireo 71 
Redhead 174 

Red-headed Woodpecker 123 
Red Phalarope 184 
Redpoll ISO 

Red-shouldered Hawk 142 
Redstart, American 70 
Red-tailed Hawk 142 
Red-throated Loon 186 
Red-winged Blackbird 100 
Reed-bird 169 
Regulus 

calendula 159 

satrapa 160 
Rice-bird 169 
Richmond, Dr. C. W. 

List of Birds found in District 
of Columbia 178 
Ring-billed Gull 176 
Ring-necked Duck 175 
Robin, American 42 
Rook 175 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 168 
Rough-winged Swallow 83 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 159 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 118 
Ruddv Duck 175 
Ruff 184 

Ruffed Grouse 150 
Rusty Blackbird 169 

Sanderling 184 
Sandhill Crane 184 
Sandpiper 

Baird's 184 

Bartramian 172 

Least 171 

Pectoral 171 

Red-backed 184 

Semipalmated 184 

Solitary 172 

Spotted 152 

Stilt 184 

Western 184 
Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied 170 
Savanna Sparrow 166 
Saw-whet Owl 170 
Sayornis phoebe 114 
Scarlet Tanager 84 
Scaup Duck 

American 174 

Lesser 185 
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 182 
Scolecophagus carolinus 169 
fecoter 

American 185 

Surf 185 

White-winged 185 
Screech Owl 135 
Sea Gull 176 



Seiurus 

aurocapillus 64 

motacilla 65 

noveboracensis 164 
Semipalmated Plover 183 
Semipalmated Sandpiper 184 
Setophaga ruticilla 70 
Sharp-shinned Hawk 138 
Shearwater, Audubon's 186 
Shore Lark 169 
Short-billed Marsh Wren 179 
Short-eared Owl 170 
Shoveller 174 
Shufeldt's Junco 181 
fenrike 

Loggerhead (Migrant Shrike) 
180 

Migrant 165 

Northern 180 
Sialia sialis 41 
Siskin, Pine 166 
Sitta 

canadensis 160 

carolinensis 48 
Size of Birds 40 
Skimmer, Black 186 
Slate-colored Junco 167 
Snipe, Wilson's 171 
Snowbird 167 
Snowflake 180 
Snowy Heron 185 
Snowy Owl 170 
Solitary Sandpiper 172 
Song Sparrow 92 
Sora 172 
Sparrows 86 
Sparrow 

Bachman's 181 

Chipping 90 

English 96 

Field 91 

Fox 167 

Grasshopper 89 

Henslow's 89 

House 96 

Lark 181 

Lincoln's 167 

Nelson's 181 

Savanna 166 

Song 92 

Swamp 167 

Tree 167 

Vesper 88 

White-crowned 166 

White-throated 167 

Yellow-winged 89 
Sparrow Hawk 144 
Spatula clypeata 174 
Sph.vrapicus varius 170 
Soinus pinus 166 
Spiza americana 168 
Spizella 

pusilla 91 

monticola 167 

socialis 90 



INDEX 



209 



Spoonbill 174 
Snotted Sandpiper 152 
Stelgidopteryx serripexmia S3 

stilt Sandpiper 184 
Strix pratincola 132 
Sturnella magna 102 
Summer Tanager 85 
Summer Yellowbird 61 
[Summer Yellow-legs 172 
Surf Scoter 185 
Swallows 78 
Swallow 

Bank 82 

Barn 80 

Cliff SI 

Eave SI 

Rough-winsred S3 

Tree 165 

White-bellied 165 
Swallow-tailed Kite 183 
Swamp Sparrow 167 
Swamp Robin 91 
Swan, Whistling 186 
Swift, Chimney 117 
Syrnium nebulosum 134 

Tachycineta bicolor 165 
Tanager 

Scarlet 84 

Summer 85 
Teal 

Blue-winged 174 

European 185 

Green-winered 173 
Tennessee Warbler 161 
Tern 

Black 176 

Caspian 186 

Common 186 

Forster's 186 

Gull-billed 1S6 

Least 186 
Thistle-bird S6 
Thrasher, Brown 49 
Thrushes 40 
Thrush 

Bicknell's 178 

Brown 49 

Golden- crowned 64 

Gray-cheeked 159 

Hermit 159 

Olive-backed 159 

Wilson's 159 

Wood 44 
Thryomanes bewickii 160 
Thrvothorus ludovicianus 53 
Tilt-up 152 
Titlark 161 
Titmouse, Tufted 46 
Totanus 

flavipes 172 

melanoleucus 171 
Towhee (Chewink) 93 
Tree Sparrow 167 
Tree Swallow 165 



Tringa 

maculata 171 

minutilla 171 
Trochilus colubris 118 
Trosrlodvtes aedon 55 
Tufted titmouse 46 
Turdus 

aliciae 159 

aonalaschkae pallasii 159 

fuscescens 159 

mustelinus 44 

ustulatus swainsonii 159 
Turnstone 183 
Turkev Yulture 148 
Turkev, Wild 151 
Turtle Dove 148 
Tyrannus tyrannus 111 

Upland Plover 172 
Usnea Warbler 179 

Yeery 159 

Yesper Sparrow 88 

Vireos 71 

Yireo 

Blue-headed 165 

Philadelphia 165 

Red-eyed 71 

Warbling 72 

White- eyed 74 

Yellow-throated 73 

flavifrons 73 

gilvus 72 

noveboracensis 74 

olivaceus 71 

philadelphicus 165 

solitarius 165 
Yiro-inia Rail 172 
Yirgrinia Red-Bird 94 
Yulture 

Black 183 

Turkey 143 

Warblers 58 
Warbler 

Bav-breasted 163 

Black and White 59 

Black and Yellow (see Magnolia 
Warbler) 

Blackburnian 163 

Black-poll 163 

Black-throated Blue 162 

Black-throated Green 163 

Blue-winged 60 

Brewster's 179 

Canadian 165 

Cape May 161 

Cerulean 179 

Chestnut-sided 162 

Connecticut 164 

Golden-winged 161 

Golden (see Yellow Warbler) 

Hooded 164 

Kentucky 6Q 

Kirtland's 179 






2IO 



INDEX 



Warbler 

Magnolia 162 

Mourning' 104 

Myrtle 162 

Nashville 161 

Orange-crowned 179 

Palm 164 

Parula 61 

Pine 63 

Prairie 63 

Prothonotary 179 

Tennessee 161 

Usnea 179 

Wilson's 165 

Worm-eating 59 

Yellow 61 

Yellow Palm 164 

Yellow-rumped 162 

Yellow-throated 62 
Warbling Vireo 72 
Water-Thrush 164 

Grinnell's 180 

Louisiana 65 
Waxwing, Cedar 70 
Western Sandpiper 184 
Whip-poor-will 119 
Whistler 175 
Whistling Swan 186 
White-bellied Swallow 165 
White-breasted Nuthatch 48 
White-crowned Sparrow 166 
White-eyed Vireo 74 
White-throated Sparrow 167 
White-winged Crossbill 180 
Wnite-winged Scoter 185 
Widgeon 185 
Wild Canary 87 
Wild Goose 175 
Wild Turkey 151 
Willet 184 
Wilsonia 

canadensis 165 

mitrata 164 

pusilla 165 
Wilson's Petrel 186 
Wilson's Snipe 171 
Wilson's Thrush 159 
Wilson's Warbler 165 
Winter Chippy 167 



Winter Residents 159 
Winter Wren 160 
Woodcock, American 151 
Wood Duck 155 
Wood Ibis 185 
Wood Thrush 44 
Woodpeckers 121 
Woodpecker 

Downy 122 

Hairy 122 

Pileated 125 

Red-bellied 125 

Red-headed 123 
Wood Pewee 115 
Worm-eating Warbler 59 
Wren 

Bewick's 160 

Carolina 53 

House 55 

Long-billed Marsh 56 

Mocking 53 

Short-billed Marsh 179 

Winter 160 

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 169 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 170 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 130 
Yellow-breasted Chat 69 
Yellow-crowned Night Heron 185 
Yellowhammer 127 
Yellow-headed Blackbird 181 
Yellow-legs 172 

Greater 171 

Summer 172 
Yellow Palm Warbler 164 
Yellow Rail 184 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 162 
i ell ow- shanks 171 
Yellow-throated Yireo 73 
Yellow-throated Warbler 62 
Yellow- throat, Maryland 68 

Yellow Warbler 61 

Yellow-winged Sparrow 89 

Zenaidura macroura 148 
Zonotrichia 

albicollis 167 

leucophrys 166 



